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Guarded Travel
Err Travel · February 20, 2001

There are many safe travelers on the road. Granted, they usually got religion after having been victimized or having experienced a close call or two. Nevertheless, they now exercise a fair amount of caution while traveling. This group - the least populated of the three I'll describe here - I call the Guards. The Guards need little advice.

A second group of travelers is composed of those who are otherwise bright people but don't take the precautions they should because they are simply unaware of the dangers that await them. However, once they understand the hazards of travel, they are quick to move into the Guards group. This is the group I target with my book and workshops. I call it the Learners group.

The last group, the Dufuses, is made up of travelers who are clueless about travel in general and safety in particular. You've seen them. I've seen them. We can't avoid them. There is no question that this group has the largest membership.

Except to make sport of them, I've largely ignored the Dufuses. Instead I've given that market over to others such Hungry Minds, which publishes, among other titles, "Travel Planning Online for Dummies". After all, few of these travelers exhibit signs of having more than a minimal intellectual capacity to understand and follow sound advice. Dufuses don't - and most of them never will - "get it."

Nevertheless, some may - eventually. So as a good-deed gesture to you in the other two groups who rub elbows (and sometimes more!) with the Dufuses when you are on the road, I propose a deal: I'll offer some advice if you promise to deliver it.

Feel free to print out the following section and send it to any travel-dolts you know. (These may well include your boss. I'll never tell.)

Dick and Jane prepare for a safe overseas trip.

See Dick check the U.S. State Department and the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office Web sites to learn about the dangers abroad.

A little later…
See Jane call to make airline reservations. See Jane ask to arrive during the day so she will have ample time to find her hotel in the daylight.

A little later…
See Dick call to make hotel reservations. See Dick ask for a room between the second and seventh floors and overlooking the street so that he is less vulnerable to hotel thieves and can attract attention if there is a fire.

A little later…
See Jane pack for her trip. See Jane include a rubber door wedge, a small flashlight, a smoke detector, a roll of duct tape, and her cell phone. See Jane use a suitcase smaller than the size of her Volvo. See Jane able to lift her suitcase without the help of a stevedore.

(A little later…
See Spot bump Jane's suitcase. See Jane's suitcase fall. See Puff leap to safety without being flattened like an airline passenger's knees from the seat-back tray table in front of him.)

A little later…
See Dick write his first initial, his last name (which he has been careful never to disclose to me), and his office telephone number on a luggage tag. See Dick fold his luggage tag in half so that others cannot see the information. See Dick attach the luggage tag to his suitcase.

And finally…
See Dick prepare his house for his absence.

Dick and Jane have prepared for a safe trip overseas.

In coming weeks I'll provide more installments on the travels of Dick and Jane for you to forward on to any less-than-full-witted fellow travels.

Dr. Terry Riley is a psychologist and travel security authority. He is author of the popular book Travel Can Be Murder. Visit his site at http://www.appliedpsychology.com or e-mail him at terry@ticked.com.