So over the summer I was contacted by a few parents for me to talk to their children about safety and awareness before heading off to college. I even had some people ask me to teach their kids some self-defense to sort of keep them safe should they ever get into a physical altercation and

I just don't think that that's realistic.

Retrieving information under pressure, high anxiety, takes years and years of training to do, however I can teach you a few things to help keep them a little bit more safe.

So as we know today college kids are using technology to their advantage, in particular ride sharing so Uber and Lyft are two very you know, widely using ride shares and if you're paying attention there are some things that surround Uber and Lyft that can be a little bit sketchy. So my generation we're always taught to never get in a car with a stranger, never talk to strangers but now your kids are at college and they're getting into cars with strangers so here's a few things that you can help use to keep them safe.

Okay so when it comes to using Uber and Lyft there's a few things that kids need to know to help keep them safe. The first thing is you have to verify the ride. Whenever you accept a driver on Uber or Lyft the name, the make, model and color of the car and also the license plate will show up on your home screen so when the ride pulls up, make sure you verify all three of those things. If those things do not match, do not get into the car whatsoever.

Number two, wait inside whenever possible and make the driver call you to verify that they've actually arrived. Your phone number is attached to your Uber and Lyft account which makes it easier for the driver to actually contact you. If there's might be a little bit of discrepancy in the map of where you are and where the map shows you to be, the driver will actually call you and you can remain on the phone until you see that car with that person and that license plate pull up, then exit wherever you're coming from and get into the car safely.

Okay the third thing that you can do to help keep your kids a little bit more safe in an Uber and Lyft ride is once you've accepted that ride and you've entered into the car, from that home screen you can swipe up and now you can share that ride with friends and family and it'll update the map and the car in real time to show exactly where you are. So if you're headed to you know your apartment or your dorm room from 7-Eleven and there's a direct route and next the car starts to veer off path, people can sort of identify that something might not be right, contact you, contact the driver or in the worst case scenario contact the police.

Okay so the last thing is the inevitable, kids are at college, they're young, they're away from home, they're probably experimenting with alcohol, hopefully not but let's assume all worse case scenarios, it's very important that number one, that the kids travel in packs, especially if you might be drinking. A lot of the times kids that are underaged don't really know their limits when it comes to alcohol and they often cross over that line of being from a buzz to inebriated to actually wasted very very quickly, so traveling in packs and making sure that you guys have good friends that are gonna keep you safe as you guys are out experimenting college.

Okay so number one, make sure you confirm the make, model, color of the car. In addition to confirming the license plate and the driver as well before you get into that car.

Number two, wait indoors whenever possible to make the driver actually call you so you can talk to a live person. Number three, share that ride especially when you are by yourself, with friends or family.

Remember all you have to do is swipe up once you've confirmed that ride and you can share with whomever you'd like. And if you're gonna be drinking and you think that you've drank too much, you probably drank too much, stay within the boundaries and keep a cold head about yourself so that you can actually make good decisions.

Make sure that you guys are safe, have fun and I hope this video helps you guys a lot.

If you're interested in trying it out or learning more about the Dragon Gym's Martial Arts and Self Defense Programs, I suggest you book your first lesson at one of locations in Exton, Malvern or Berwyn. 

All of our new students start with our 3-class Quick Start Program, and it's an easy way for you to learn more about our programs, meet the instructors and see what the Dragon Gym Community is all about. 

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