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The tradecraft primer guide to ‘counter-surveillance driving’; tactics and methods to maneuver high-stakes environments, evade detection, navigate threats and maintain operational secrecy on the road. 
Counter-surveillance driving combines the precision of defensive driving with the cunning of field tradecraft. This guide covers the nuanced concepts of vehicular evasive maneuvers, detection and evasion of tails, vehicle preparation for quick escapes, and strategies for maintaining security on the road.
To master evasive driving, you must think like the relentless hunter while remaining the invisible prey.
It’s crucial to understand that counter-surveillance driving is a mindset as much as a skillset. It involves constant awareness, anticipation of threats, and readiness to act. Every movement on the road can be a tell, and mastery over these tells is what sets professionals apart.
COUNTER-SURVEILLANCE DRIVING
Counter-surveillance driving is an essential component of OPSEC for intelligence operatives, designed to prevent tracking and monitoring by adversaries. This practice is not only pivotal in operations but also serves as a valuable skill set for civilian applications in personal safety and privacy.
The techniques encompass a wide range of evasive maneuvers and strategic route planning, which enable you to detect and evade surveillance while in transit. These methods are rigorously developed and tested within the intelligence community and offer substantial benefits by enhancing situational awareness and reducing vulnerability to tracking and profiling.
The sophistication of counter-surveillance driving tactics reflects an acute understanding of surveillance methodologies and the psychological elements of pursuit, making it a critical skill for operatives in field operations.
These driving strategies, while developed for use in high-stakes environments, have practical implications for everyday situations where you might need to secure your movements against potential threats or unwanted attention.
VEHICLE PREPARATION
The state of your vehicle can be the deciding factor between a successful evasion and a compromised mission. The following are the essentials to prepare your vehicle for quick escapes and unpredictable scenarios:
EVASIVE MANEUVERS
Evasive driving is about making sudden, unpredictable movements that make it difficult for someone to follow you. However, these should be executed with utmost care to avoid accidents or drawing undue attention.
Each of these maneuvers must be executed with safety, legality, and situational awareness in mind to avoid endangering yourself or others. Combining multiple techniques increases effectiveness, ensuring the pursuer must continually adapt while exposing their intent.
DETECTING AND LOSING A TAIL
Awareness is your most active and continuously utilized line of defense. Regularly check your mirrors for the same vehicle appearing multiple times. Be aware of vehicles that maintain a constant distance or make the same turns as you, especially over an extended period or distance.
If You Suspect You’re Being Followed
To Lose a Tail
MAINTAINING ANONYMITY
Anonymity is as crucial as evasive action. Being anonymous among the cars and traffic provides security. These are strategies to maintain a low profile:
COUNTER-SURVEILLANCE DRIVING TACTICS
Plan Your Route in Advance: Before embarking on any journey, plan your route, including alternative paths you can take. Familiarity with the area allows you to make sudden route changes seamlessly and notice if you’re being followed due to deviations from typical traffic patterns.
Perform Surveillance Detection Routes (SDRs): An SDR is a planned path that includes multiple changes in direction and stops to identify if someone is following you. It typically involves making several turns, doubling back on your route, and varying your speed to see if another vehicle consistently matches your maneuvers.
Use Reflections and Mirrors: Regularly check your mirrors for followers but also use window reflections from buildings, parked vehicles, and other reflective surfaces to spot tails you may not see directly.
Change Speeds: Vary your speed to see if the vehicle behind you matches the changes. Someone who is consistently keeping pace with you might be a sign of surveillance.
Make Unpredictable Turns: Rather than sticking to a direct path, make random turns or exit the freeway unexpectedly. This can confirm if a vehicle is specifically targeting to follow you.
Pull Into a Public Place: If you suspect you are being followed, pulling into a busy public area can be a safe choice. It’s harder for someone to maintain surveillance without standing out in a crowded setting.
Drive in a Circle: If you’re in an urban environment, drive in a circle or around a block. It’s an effective way to see if a car follows you all the way around.
Stop at a Light, Then Turn: While waiting at a traffic light, signal as if you’re going to continue straight, but when the light changes, make a last-minute turn. This sudden change can disrupt a follower’s strategy.
Use Public Transport Areas: Driving through areas with buses and taxis can complicate the ability for someone to follow discreetly. Frequent stops, varying speeds, and lane changes are common and can mask your true intent and disrupt surveillance efforts.
End with a Safe Haven: Always have a predetermined safe location in mind, whether it’s a police station, government building, or other secure area. If you confirm you’re being followed, proceed to this location.
Counter-surveillance driving is an essential skill for operatives, demanding a high level of situational awareness, precision, and preparedness. By blending the art of driving with the science of tradecraft, one can navigate the most challenging environments and ensure mission success with minimal exposure.
The objective is not just to reach your destination, but to do so undetected, maintaining the veil of secrecy that’s critical for operational security.
// To outdrive your pursuers, make the road your ally and the traffic your accomplice.
[INTEL : Vehicular Precision Immobilization Technique]
[OPTICS : New York, New York]