Orange line at night?

[TheWatchmen]

Originally Posted by gomason

The point is you're never 100% safe ANYWHERE. Its called life.

Some tips I would add though: 1) Get pepper spray. 2) Dont walk around in sketchy places that you feel uncomfortable in with your headphones in (a lot of women are attacked like this) 3) Be streetsmart and use common sense -- pay attention to your surroundings.

I am not a woman, true, but I know women who have lived in far worse hoods which is why this cracks me up. My sister for one lived in inner city Atlanta in one of the worst hoods in the city which was basically an open air drug market. She was completely fine. She also lived in a terrible neighborhood in Lynchburg where people were literally shot in her backyard from gang violence. She never had an issue though. I also know women who live in far worse hoods in DC.

The thing I always tell people and I cant emphasize enough is to walk confidently and be observant! That works 90% of the time. Do not walk home at 2am drunk with your headphones in. Criminals are opportunists.

Men are more likely to be victims of assault, robbery, and homicide. I am always ALWAYS telling my husband to be careful, to watch out.

I've never felt unsafe at Vienna or Ballston, and I've been at both hundreds of times, at all hours of the day.

[NOVA_guy]

You'll be fine.

Like anywhere else in this country, you want to be smart and vigilant, as long as you do those two things you'll be more than fine. Being "smart" is obviously somewhat subjective but don't do anything that you know will put you in harm's way. Vienna as a whole is a very safe area as is the Northern Virginia area.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by Ffxdata

You guys don't have a clue. WMATA doesn't even report most sexual harassment and even many sexual assaults and gropings.

Two weeks ago, A woman riding (ride line) ended up in a car alone with a guy, and he raped her at knife point after asking if she had a boyfriend (like her being single or not matters??). Kojo Nmamdi just had a show on this issue a couple weeks back.

Are you talking about the one in Maryland, or is this another one?

[ICS67]

Originally Posted by gomason

The point is you're never 100% safe ANYWHERE. Its called life.

Some tips I would add though: 1) Get pepper spray. 2) Dont walk around in sketchy places that you feel uncomfortable in with your headphones in (a lot of women are attacked like this) 3) Be streetsmart and use common sense -- pay attention to your surroundings.

I am not a woman, true, but I know women who have lived in far worse hoods which is why this cracks me up. My sister for one lived in inner city Atlanta in one of the worst hoods in the city which was basically an open air drug market. She was completely fine. She also lived in a terrible neighborhood in Lynchburg where people were literally shot in her backyard from gang violence. She never had an issue though. I also know women who live in far worse hoods in DC.

The thing I always tell people and I cant emphasize enough is to walk confidently and be observant! That works 90% of the time. Do not walk home at 2am drunk with your headphones in. Criminals are opportunists.

OP: Gomason hit it on the head with the four recommendations of his that I put in bold.

Unfortunately, as the old saying goes, common sense is not all that common -- and street smarts and situational awareness seem to be in short supply these days, to judge by the number of people whose faces are glued to their smart phones and who have absolutely no conception of anything happening more than 12 inches away from them.

[thenewjs]

As a former cop I will say the best thing to do is to be attentive and alert and aware of your surroundings. Don't put your headphones in your ears and zone out. Most crimes are those of opportunity. Someone not paying attention is a very easy target. As a 6'3" black male I can be intimidating especially on a dark platform. I can count the amount of times I have gotten on a train with people oblivious to the world some get on and off without even knowing I was there. Some get startled once they realize I am there after a few minutes. I once got a a train with a girl in DC rode and she dint know I was there until I got off the train at Clarendon.

In the streets they call it "slippin". The best deterrence against crime is to not get caught "slippin".