Important points to note about carjacking

Carjacking is a felony. Under the law, it is a violent crime. A carjacker is risking a far more severe penalty if caught than a regular car thief.

A person deranged enough to think this is an acceptable risk cannot be expected to start making smart decisions when he has a gun held to your head. Now is not the time to be a hero for you.

Do not argue or resist a carjacker, the odds are you will be shot if you do.

The carjacker has come to the situation ready, willing and able to commit violence.
An effective strategy to "defend your space" under normal circumstances could in this instant get your brains blown out.

Carjackers rarely operate alone. Although you may only have seen the guy who stuck a gun in your face, chances are that there are more of them around. Car thieves in general and carjackers especially tend to operate in groups. Often a driver will stop, let one of the members out of his car and wait until the vehicle has been stolen. They will then follow to a drop-off point, and the thief will rejoin his comrades.

If something goes wrong with the carjacking attempt (i.e., you miraculously defeat the carjacker without getting shot) there is a very good chance that his comrades will open fire on you. And unlike the carjacker, the gunmen will not be close enough for you to defend yourself.

No matter how good you may be, you can't dodge bullets. This same problem applies to any firearm defense you might muster. You can easily find yourself in a firefight after shooting your primary attacker.

What do you stand to lose? It isn't just the loss of your car that will be the problem, important documents, mobile phones, cash and/or credit cards are often lost in carjackings.

Carjackers have also been known to sometimes rape their female victims. This exposes the victims to trauma and diseases like HIV/AIDS among other varied STDs.

This is why you must spot the problem developing in order to save both yourself and your vehicle. If you don't see it coming, the best you can hope for is to save yourself. You can only do that by giving the carjacker what he wants without resistance and escaping with your life.

Carjackers are mostly likely to strike;

i). When you walk to your car in a parking lot or street.
ii). When you momentarily stop (e.g., at a traffic light, entering traffic from a
parking lot or turning, or at your home waiting for the gate to be opened