Bump-And-Run Carjackings Are The New Trend You Have To Guard Against

As authorities fail to truly clamp down on the car theft problem in US cities, thieves are predictably becoming more aggressive and bolder. We’ve seen the problem evolve from break-ins while cars are parked to carjackings and armed home invasions to steal car keys in just a short time. Now a new trend is reportedly emerging: bump-and-run carjackings.

Man thrown from his car during a scary carjacking in NYC.

It might sound silly but we guarantee if it were to happen to you it’s a genuine code brown moment. While WJLA says the trend is new and unique to the Washington, D.C. area we’ve known about this trick for years and have seen it in other places. Still, it seems to be growing in popularity so we want to warn everyone about it.

The scheme goes something like this: you’re driving along minding your own business when someone rearends you. It probably isn’t hard but it’s enough to get you to pull over to inspect the damage and probably call police. As you climb out of your car and start to assess your rear bumper, the people in the vehicle that hit you jump out and point guns at you. That’s when they take your car and drive off.

While we understand the guns are just to coerce people into going along with the carjacking, we know it’s only a matter of time before someone is shot unintentionally. After all, videos of young carjackers showing off their Glocks with auto switches demonstrate they know nothing about flagging or trigger discipline, so they’re eventually going to shoot someone without meaning to and that person could be you.

One potential way to guard against this scheme is to stay in your car, with the doors locked, until the people get out of the other vehicle. Or even better, stay in your vehicle with the engine running and wait until police arrive. It’s sad that everyone has to look over their shoulder constantly but that’s the world we live in now. What would be even better is if prosecutors and judges hit car thieves with hard sentences, getting them off the streets and sending a message that these crimes won’t be tolerated.

In the meantime, we all get to deal with the lawless attitudes.