SECURITY

Security is quite a major concern in this day and age .. our personal security, the security of
our vehicles, and the security of our possessions.

Our major concern is probably about the evil that others may wish to inflict on us or
our property. However, security relating to other aspects such as from naturally
occurring events (the weather), wild animals, health, accident risks and so on should
be considered.

There are some basic security issues to always keep in mind. Many are obvious, others
we may be aware of, but to refresh our memories:
a) safety in numbers. Take your partner with you .. two is much safer than one. Try and
team up with others when possible .. safer again.

b) avoiding dark and lonely places. Fairly obvious .. though easily forgotten. Due to the size
of some rigs, we may be tempted to, or have to park in those sort of places for,
say shopping. Some of us camp in lonely places .. in those cases, be extra vigilant.

c) try and avoid places that have a bad reputation. Some towns have bad reputations .. try
and avoid them. Talk to travellers coming from the opposite direction. Read other travel
related information.

d) keeping yourself and property under lock and key. Something most of us are reluctant to take
seriously. It's much nicer to have the door open when parked and having a meal, packing groceries
away after shopping, when camping and a short distance away from your vehicle, and so on. In the
first two types of examples, we should consider locking the door. In the latter, I have a policy
of locking the door if we cannot keep it in sight .. even at Chapter events.

e) avoid flaunting wealth. This can mean not wearing expensive clothing, jewelry etc. when shopping or
sightseeing. Wear clothing that is similar to what others are wearing at that place and time. Fit in with
the current situation.

f) not encouraging danger, conflict. Do not get into arguements with others .. even if you think they
are wrong, just walk away. Drive sedately, not aggressively. If you are travelling below
the speed limit, let others past .. even if it means pulling over and stopping. Make
friends on the road (and in other places), not enemies!

g) not engaging in risky persuits .. some persuits/activities carry more risk than others. Try and choose
those with less risk

h) having communication to summon assistance. This could be a mobile phone, CB radio or HF radio.
They should be so organized, and you should be also organized, to use them with minimal delay.

i) look confident .. sure of yourself. People that look lost or confused are more at risk than others.

j) make sure your vehicle is as roadworthy as possible .. thus avoiding the risk of breakdown is a lonely
or risky place.

In considering the above, there are immediate conflicts obvious. We may be a solo
traveller, some of us like to park / camp in lonely places, those with expensive
motorhomes are flaunting wealth and so on. We need to be aware of these issues and,
at least, endeavour to minimise their effect .. reduce the risk. Some aspects, like
keeping everything locked, avoiding risky persuits etc. may go against our nature of
of being free, easy, sociable and so on. But, as said, it's all about being aware and
minimising the risk.

From our view as motorhome owners, we need to consider security when:

i) travelling in our motorhome.

ii) when we are parked and in or close to our motorhome (as when parked and/or camping).

iii) when we are parked and away from our motorhome (as when shopping, sight seeing etc.).

Many security issues are common for these three situations. They are those issues covered in
are covered in "a" to "j" above. However, the three situations also demand some unique considerations.
We will look at those now.

When actually travelling, we should have all doors and widows locked. This helps avoid the
the slight risk of anyone gaining access to us or our vehicle when, for example stopped at
traffic lights or road works .. particularly so in risky or isolated areas. Car jacking occurs
in certain parts of the world .. we do not want to make motorhome jacking a possibility here!

When parked, in or close to our motorhome, we need to be aware of all of the above. Parking
(camping) overnight raises a number of other issues. More so in isolated areas ..

a) try and choose a recognised parking / camping spot.

b) some people advise against spots within say 10 to 20 km of a town and particularity
so on Friday and Saturday nights. The reason being that the area may be used as a
drinking spot by local (say) ruffians.

c) try and choose a spot that has one or more other traveller staying the night.
The extra numbers add a lot to security. Then make a point of having a yarn with them,
try and arrange to have a drink with them at "happy hour". This way, you should gain some
some rapport with each other .. something very useful if either of you have any problem
later on.

d) always park facing the entrance and so no one is likely to park in front of you.
This is so, if needs be, you can make a quick exit.

e) try and park so the entrance(s) and as much of the parking area is visible to you.
This way, you can observe any others entering the area and observe other happenings.

f) arrange to have all you outside activities complete before dark. If you are the only
vehicle parked and you do not feel comfortable, my suggestion is to try and have
everything put away .. table, chairs etc., bins locked and awning down. Thus, if you
need to drive away quickly, there is no need to go outside .. everything is ready.
Pursuing this further, we should also have things packed away inside the motorhome
.. ready for immediate travel.

g) avoid parking in dry water courses .. it may rain upstream. Likewise, avoid crossing
low land and parking on higher land in flood prone areas or times. You may get cut off.

h) avoid parking under trees that shred branches unexpectedly .. so called "widow makers"!
Large iron bark trees and some species of eucalyptus are exceptionally bad.

Again, separate issues are involved when we park and are away from our motorhome .. for
example, shopping. Security of the vehicle becomes more acute if we leave it. As well
as securing the vehicle with the usual lock and key, extra security should be considered.
This could involve a steering wheel lock, alarm system, engine immobilizer, etc.
Personal security is also a consideration .. take note of the relevant issues mentioned at
the beginning of these notes.

There are, no doubt, many more issues regarding security that need covering. Personally, having
a technical background (electronic), I tend to think of technical solutions. A couple of things
I have done to our motorhome is add an engine immobilizer (for obvious reasons) and an internal
switch in parallel with the existing external switch on the external light. My theory here is if
someone is knocking on the door at night time, I can turn that external light on and see who it is.
I figure if anyone is "up to no good", they would not like to be visible and (hopefully) go away.
I am working on another couple of ideas that I will eventually add to my web site. Another technical
solution is a personal "screecher alarm" if you feel personally venerable. These are available from
the common electronic supply stores. Obviously, of little benefit in remote places, but could be of
value in some situations.

I could go on further, but I feel that I should now publish this on this web site. I may expand
these notes in the future. Hopefully, these notes to date will prove of benefit.

Safe travelling.

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