One last point regarding the use of weapons is the one seldom considered by many people - that is  when the car is turned into a weapon and can be made to crash, causing injury or worse but without the need for using "normal" weapons. To achieve this, a degree of vehicle tampering is needed, whether to sever a brake-pipe, plant an explosive device or interfere with the vehicles electronic systems. What­ ever the method used, care needs to  be taken to check your vehicle before entering it.

If you imagine that as a pilot, you would not trust your aircraft not to have been tampered with or touched in your absence, the same attitude should be applied to your vehicle. Whether you have any known potential enemies or not there are some basic precautions that can be used if you have left the vehicle unattended  for any time in a quiet spot and cannot ensure it's security. These precautions  fall into two categories, the simplest of which are the re-active checks that can be applied to any vehicle in­cluding hire cars or borrowed vehicles that you have not had the opportunity to prepare in  advance.

There is a simple list of checks that can be carried out to cover the principal points at which a vehicle can be interfered with:

• Approach the vehicle at an angle, looking beneath it for signs of objects attached, loose wires hanging and any signs of dripping or pools of brake fluid on the floor.
• Examine inside each wheel-arch and the insides of bumpers in turn. These are easy places to hide devices, ranging  from small bombs to trackers and radio transmitters/receivers.
• Look around the vehicle for discarded ends of wire insulation, tape or other signs of equip­ment used to attach devices to or tamper with the  vehicle.
• Look for signs of forced entry to the vehicle and for any smudges or fingerprints on the car's bodywork.
• Carefully open the bonnet and check fluids and electrics. Look for any out of place "black boxes" or signs of disturbed surface grime on the engine or sides of the engine  bay.
• Examine the inside of the boot for anything having moved or been wrongly  replaced.
• Finally, examine the interior of the car thoroughly to ensure that there are no signs of recent searching  or tampering.

Once you have mastered these points, the routine becomes a simple matter that can be carried out without too much difficulty. These are the basic points, but as you can see there are a myriad of places to disguise any tampering or plant any devices, so for your further protection it is recommended that these additional steps are taken as a pro-active means of reducing the risks involved.

Pro-Active precautions to protect the security of your vehicle.

• When you leave the vehicle, apply wax or gel to the keyholes which can be easily checked on your return to assess whether any attempt to unlock the doors has been made.
• Invisible tape, such as the "magic tape" used for positioning photographs when making up layouts, can be used to good effect by attaching a small strip across each door seam or panel opening in the vehicle. Any attempt to open a panel will result in the tape being disturbed and even if re-applied, it will not stick down in the same  manner.
• Steam cleaning the underside, engine bay and wheel-arches of the vehicle regularly makes it more difficult for anything to be hidden or for any leaking fluids to go unnoticed.
• If you are able to, prepare the floor surrounding the vehicle with a fine layer of sand or other material that will record footprints and other activity. Whatever you use, make sure it blends with the surface that you are parked on and is not easily seen in the available light.
• If your vehicle is fitted with hubcaps, either secure these at several points with cable-ties that you can identify as your own and use a discrete mark to show their alignment with the wheels themselves. Any attempt to move or remove the hubcap to secure a weapon or tracking device can easily be spotted and the device found.
• Keep the vehicle polished to show any fingerprints easily, or apply a thin coat of a  suitable fine powder at the critical points to show any sign of disturbance.
• If you can afford to have one fitted, use a remote control to be able to unlock and start the vehicle remotely from a safe distance as a final precaution against any ignition triggered de­vices that  may have been fitted.

If these points seem extreme, then you are probably working at a level that will only require the use of such measures in extreme circumstances. Those of you that are already thinking about instigating such extreme precautions are already concerned about your safety or the potential risks that your work in­volves. IU s for you that this guide has been taken to such extremes. With luck, you will never need to use these techniques, but will benefit from the discipline used in learning and practising them. If you do have to use such methods, then it is hoped that you are able to prevent any harm from befalling you. It   is better to have the knowledge and never use it than to not have the knowledge and to wish you had it.