Safety 101 for Grown Ups

I was fortunate enough to attend a self-defense class not long ago and I would like to share a few things that I learned.
– 911 will work with any cell phone that has a charge.  Imagine a cell phone that you have given to the kids to play with since you got a new one.  You are driving and your cell phone drops in water and can’t use it.  Then you run out of gas and there are no bars.  Grab that old cell phone out of your baby’s hand and dial 911.  911 works on any tower, regardless of the carrier and may go through even if other calls won’t.  In fact, women’s shelter collect old cell phones for women to use in a pinch.  If there is a tower anywhere in the vicinity it will work.  There is some speculation that the new GPS phones will work off of satellites, but I couldn’t verify that.
– 56% of violent felons are repeat offenders.  70% of crime is committed by 30% of the criminals.  That’s a lot of numbers because I couldn’t find the number I wanted.  Which was what percentage of violent crime is committed by repeat offenders.  I understand why they can’t give me this number, probably because a ridiculously high number of crime is left unsolved.  My point is… gone are the days when you can expect a criminal will take what he wants and go away peacefully.
These guys don’t want witnesses.  These guys will kill you if they get the chance.
You fight as hard as you possibly can, don’t be quiet, kick, scream, grab, bite and anything else you can.  Carry pepper spray, or anything else you can use to defend yourself and STOP them.
– Yell and scream at them, not just for help, but at them.  And don’t be afraid to use foul language (as crazy as it seems).  According to a convicted rapist who was interviewed by Paxton Quigley, ” These guys are all used to hearing bad talk.  We’ve been talking bad talk all our lives.  We don’t know any other way to talk, so if they don’t hear bad talk, they don’t understand.  And you got to yell it.  We’ve been yelled at all our lives, too – cops, mothers, jail guards and tough guys all yell.  You got to yell.”
– Drugs do CRAZY things.  Have you guys read Brisinger from the Inheritance series?  You know the men who feel no pain?  Um… yeah.  These new fangled drugs turn these dirtbags into men who feel no pain.  If you are attacked you have to do some serious damage in order to stop him.
– What you do in practice, you do in real life.  Sooooo… practice.  Take a self-defense course, or enroll in martial arts.  In fact, a lot of martial art studios offer a self-defense course.  Or, if all else fails, have your husband take you out to the back yard and have him try to abduct you (unless he’s abusive, chances are he’ll need some convincing).   Don’t do anything that would hurt him permanently, but I’m sure he’d willingly take a kick or a scratch to help you.
– Get mad and get ugly!  Think about protecting your kids if that helps.
– And the number one thing you can do to protect yourself  is AVOID THE SITUATION.  I know it sounds obvious, but seriously, park by a light, close to the store entrance.  Be aware of your surroundings.  Do your shopping during the day LONG before it gets dark.  Walk with your head held high and make eye contact.
Any other tips?