Around a week back, Dad and I were driving back to my place at around 1.30 am. The traffic obviously was very light and we were happily chatting away. I was approaching Cubbon Park from the Hudson Circle side. Normally, both the gates (next to each other) are open and I was surprised to see one closed. I slowed down to take the slight curve and I noticed that there was a man standing outside the gate. His head and torso were covered in a blanket and I was thinking that it was strange for a watchman to stand there. As I came closer, he suddenly pulled out a stick. I slowed down a it more and as I was passing him, he slammed the stick on the car!! Luckily it missed the windscreen and the side window. Both Dad and me let out surprised noises and I managed to bite back some abuses.
I continued to drive off thinking what to do next. I kept watching him in the rear view mirror but he was motionless.
I asked Dad "Is he a cop?"
He said that he was not sure.
I said "Not likely though as he was alone and normally cops are usually at least in twos. Anyway, why would he try and stop us in such a violent fashion?"
As I kept driving I kept thinking that if Dad was not here, I would have probably stepped out to see what the **** this guy was up to. Anyway, I didn't want to worry him and so I kept quiet. We got out of the park uneventfully and reached home. On checking the car, I was relieved to see that there was hardly a scratch. As I walked in home, I suddenly realised - Muggers!! Shit, if I would have stopped and stepped out, probably two more guys would have stepped out of the trees and stolen my money or worse. Wow, thank God Dad was there because of which I kept driving.
So I am putting this one up to make you guys aware of the dangers of driving in a lonely place even in the heart of the city. Couple of other gimmicks I have heard of are
- Someone hidden throws a stone at your car. As your attention is distracted and you take your eyes of the road, another person jumps in front of the car. You probably have already slowed down but this person pretends like he got badly hit. His accomplices join in and start demanding that you pay up money.
- Another car bumps you from behind. You are pissed, you stop the car and get out to yell. You get mugged.
- I would also advise that you do not stop to answer that call of nature.
Here are a few sites that give you lots of tips on how to be safe, on the road or off it. I read it because before this incident happened, I too never thought it could happen to me
http://travelmalaysiaguide.com/tips-on-driving-a-car-in-malaysia/
http://www.maketraveltrip.com/travel-safety-india.html
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Travel_safety_tips?open
I continued to drive off thinking what to do next. I kept watching him in the rear view mirror but he was motionless.
I asked Dad "Is he a cop?"
He said that he was not sure.
I said "Not likely though as he was alone and normally cops are usually at least in twos. Anyway, why would he try and stop us in such a violent fashion?"
As I kept driving I kept thinking that if Dad was not here, I would have probably stepped out to see what the **** this guy was up to. Anyway, I didn't want to worry him and so I kept quiet. We got out of the park uneventfully and reached home. On checking the car, I was relieved to see that there was hardly a scratch. As I walked in home, I suddenly realised - Muggers!! Shit, if I would have stopped and stepped out, probably two more guys would have stepped out of the trees and stolen my money or worse. Wow, thank God Dad was there because of which I kept driving.
So I am putting this one up to make you guys aware of the dangers of driving in a lonely place even in the heart of the city. Couple of other gimmicks I have heard of are
- Someone hidden throws a stone at your car. As your attention is distracted and you take your eyes of the road, another person jumps in front of the car. You probably have already slowed down but this person pretends like he got badly hit. His accomplices join in and start demanding that you pay up money.
- Another car bumps you from behind. You are pissed, you stop the car and get out to yell. You get mugged.
- I would also advise that you do not stop to answer that call of nature.
Here are a few sites that give you lots of tips on how to be safe, on the road or off it. I read it because before this incident happened, I too never thought it could happen to me
http://travelmalaysiaguide.com/tips-on-driving-a-car-in-malaysia/
http://www.maketraveltrip.com/travel-safety-india.html
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Travel_safety_tips?open
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