Woman reveals clever safety tactics that 'saved her life'
A woman has revealed clever safety tips given to her by her secret service agent father which she claims saved her life.
Lauren Bell, from the US state of Pennsylvania, shared the tips on TikTok, turning the advice her father gave her into inspirational quotes.
In a series of short TikTok videos Ms Bell has shared her tips, including ordering drinks that come in bottles as they are harder to drug and never turn your back towards the door.
'Headphones should never leave the house'
In seperate videos she breaks down some of the quotes, explaining in detail why they are important to remember.
In one video she explains that her father told her "headphones should never leave the house" as they are a distraction from your surroundings.
“When you are wearing headphones listening to music you are actually disabling your auditory system to what is going on to your surroundings,” Ms Bell explains.
“It means you are no longer able to detect danger through sound … You might not be able to hear that car that just rolled up next to you and parked, you might not be able to hear those footsteps of someone coming up behind you because you’re distracted.”
'Make four right turns'
In another video Ms Bell said if you think you are being followed you should make four right turns.
“When you take four right turns you essentially just walked or drove in a complete circle, so if someone is actually going to a destination and not following you, they wouldn’t be making circles,” she said.
If you feel like you are being paranoid Ms Bell said to repeat the four right turns and see if you are still being followed.
“If this is happening you can call the police and let them know you think you are being followed and when they ask you why you feel that way you can explain that you made four right turns, came back in a circle and this car or person is still behind you.”
'Know where you are at all times'
Ms Bell believes the advice her father gave her saved her life, especially during one frightening experience in 2014.
“When I was growing up my dad always drilled into my head – ‘know where you are at all times, know your surroundings. If you are shopping and you keep bumping into a person multiple times, it’s most likely not a coincidence, question everything, question everybody and always have your head on a swivel',” Ms Bell said.
The TikTok user said she was at a department store when she became aware of a man nearby.
After noticing him three different times around the large store, Ms Bell said she again saw him waiting in line behind her at the checkout.
"I just turn around and just start staring him down. I make eye contact with him. And one of the things that my dad taught me was (that) clothes can be removed, hair can be changed, but birthmarks and tattoos are always permanent," Ms Bell said.
After noticing an eagle tattoo on his right calf, Ms Bell said she wanted to linger at the register to see if he was waiting for her so she opened a store credit card which she said took about "ten to fifteen minutes".
When she had finished applying for the card, Ms Bell couldn't see the man any longer and walked to her car but as she got to the carpark, she spotted the man again who this time tried to strike up a conversation with her.
"He's like, 'Hey, I have an opportunity for you where you can make a tonne of money, why don't you come to my car, I have a flyer in my car right now," Ms Bell said.
The woman said the carpark was full of parked cars but she couldn't see any other shoppers in sight.
Ms Bell said the man started waving money in her face and she was afraid to run towards her car in case the man was able to trace her licence plate to her home address, so instead she prepared to "make a scene" so other people could be a witness to what was going on.
Luckily at that moment Ms Bell said another car pulled into the parking lot and she made a dash for it to ask the driver for help. That's when she said the man turned in the opposite direction and quickly ran away.
"He bolted away like a maniac because he knew at that point in time, there was going to be somebody else to witness what was going on," Ms Bell said.
"It just goes to show, guys, this kind of stuff can happen anywhere, any place, any time of day. This was a Sunday, 4:45pm, super close to home, and thank god that I was aware," she said.
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