Have you ever been so afraid that you couldn’t scream? I have. Hook the Ila alarm to your handbag or belt loop, pull the string, and let it scream for you!
Source: Screaming Personal Safety Alarm — from CorporateTravelSafety.com.
The Ila Dusk alarm is 3″ x 1.5″ x 3″ and is $27.95 at Corporate Travel Safety.com.
Imagine: You’re walking down the street at night in a foreign country with map in hand trying to find your lodging. You sense a man walking behind you, picking up his pace, and you start to fear he intends to rob you. What do you do?
Studies show that cries for help are more likely to get a response than alarms and whistles; after all, how many times have you heard a car alarm go off and ignored it as just another noise? At the pull of its string, the Ila Dusk alarm registers a female scream at 130 decibels that is meant to disorient and/or scare off a would-be attacker. I wish I had had it when I was in Paris last year: I was visiting Pere Lachaise Cemetery, and I was in a fairly secluded area where no one else was around when two men approached me and came within an inch of my face. They taunted me as I held onto my handbag and muttered that I didn’t speak French well. They eventually left. Had I had the Ila alarm, they would have left much sooner — and in a hurry.
In addition, I could have used it when I was robbed about 100 yards from my apartment building: I had taken a shortcut after walking to the grocery store, and there was no one around because everyone was in front of their TVs waiting for the kickoff of the Superbowl. I wanted to throw a glass bottle of white vinegar at my three attackers who approached me from behind, but I was shaking so hard I couldn’t manage to get my hand into my plastic grocery bag. They ripped my brand new handbag off of me and left me clutching a strap. I couldn’t even scream as they walked away from me, scouring my handbag for stolen loot. I needed someone — or something — to scream for me.
Please note that the product description states the decibel level as 130, but the graph puts the decibel level at 101. I emailed the company requesting clarification of this inconsistency, but I never received a reply. No matter: 100 decibels is roughly the sound the sound of a wood shop (you know, the sound of a wood-cutting blade), which is still more than enough to ward off a would-be attacker. Just do yourself a favor and think twice before pulling the alarm on an airplane or other tightly-enclosed place.
Au revoir!
Image of Ila Dusk Screaming Alarm from CorporateTravelSafety.com.