Last summer, Arthur and Diane Riegal were on a family camping vacation in southern France, near the village of Salon-de-Provence. Late one night, as the Riegals and their two teenaged daughters slept in the back of their rented motor home, someone broke into the front of the vehicle and took their security pack containing the family’s credit cards, drivers’ licenses and passports, leaving them stranded without personal identification or access to funds. Local police theorized that a caravan of thieves staying in the same area may have sprayed a “sleeping gas” though the screen windows of the motor-home before they jimmied the door lock.

About 10 years ago, Gene and Marcia Raponi were returning to their New York City hotel room after having breakfast in a nearby restaurant. As Mrs. Raponi opened the door to their room, a man suddenly appeared behind them brandishing a knife. He herded the couple into the room, closed the door and ripped out the phone cord. Mr. Raponi, who was in a wheelchair, felt the knife against his throat as the intruder demanded the couple’s money and jewelry. The thief ran out of the hotel with cash and rings before the Raponis could call for help.

Recently, two colleagues were on a beach in Rio de Janeiro as darkness fell. Before they could pack up and leave the area they were attacked by a man wielding a knife but were able to fight off the bandit and escape from the scene unharmed.

Could these incidents have been prevented? Perhaps not, but the individuals could have reduced the likelihood of such occurrences. While we cannot always prevent bad things from happening when we travel, certain precautions can lessen the odds and lower our exposure to people who would harm us.

Airline travel is the No. 1 security concern among travelers, and an airport is the first place on a trip where we experience the uneasy feeling that we are traveling through a dangerous world. We wonder if we can depend on the person sitting next to us on the plane for assistance should a life-threatening event take place at 40,000 feet. This question probably would not have occurred to us prior to 9/11, but now it is just one of several uncertainties we encounter before every flight.

Soon, travelers will experience new and additional security measures at U.S. (and many overseas) airports. The Transportation Security Administration is experimenting with advanced X-ray technologies, known as AT, that will improve carry-on bag screening and enhance airline passenger security. These new AT systems, including the Rapiscan 620DV (which provides both horizontal and vertical X-ray views of carry-on luggage) and the Smiths Detection HI-SCAN 6040aTIX (which uses several independent generators connected to their own X-ray sensor technology) are, despite their high-tech names, quite cost-effective compared to the current equipment and will be widely deployed in a few years.

“The TSA is working behind the scenes to protect airline passengers and crew, including behavior detection officers, bomb appraisal officers, federal air marshals and TSA K9 teams, in addition to the visible security checkpoints,” said Lara Uselding, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration. “Travelers themselves should also go into heightened security mode as soon as they arrive at the airport, preparing themselves for checkpoint security procedures as well as becoming more alert to any unusual circumstances they encounter in the terminal or departure lounge.”

Of course, even with all the advanced security equipment and techniques that have been developed since 9/11, there are those who still feel very threatened by potential terrorist attacks. In a February 2008 Consumer Reports article, David Mackett, president of the Airline Pilots Security Alliance, said, “There’s a term we are using in the airline industry: We are being ‘ridden’ [meaning terrorists or their supporters are flying on aircraft to test current airport and carrier security measures]. They’re not wannabes — in some way, they’re assisting Al Qaeda. People ask me, ‘Will there be another 9/11?’ I do think there will be more 9/11s.”

For travelers planning to visit foreign countries, it is a good idea to check the current travel warnings at the State Department’s Web site (http://travel.state.gov/travel) for the latest information on dangerous and unstable destinations. The list also includes areas where the U.S. government’s ability to assist American citizens “is constrained due to the closure of an embassy or consulate or because of a drawdown of its staff.” Recently, travel warnings were listed for 29 countries, but destinations are added and deleted as political conditions change. The State Department also publishes a guide to foreign terrorist organizations, including the specific regions in the world where they operate (http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/45323.pdf).

“Travelers must understand the threats that could occur when traveling to certain destinations — these could include road safety, history of attacks on visitors, local police effectiveness and the conditions of public transportation — and give careful attention to planning an itinerary, taking into account the online warnings that are issued by various governmental agencies,” said Todd Brown, executive director of the Overseas Security Advisory Council (http://www.osac.gov) and a special agent in the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service. He has spent 22 years in sensitive areas like Oman, Morocco, Iraq and Pakistan. “When I look at a map of the world today, it seems like there are more places that are not safe for traveling with families than ever before,” he said.

Hotels, too, have become flashpoints for potential terrorist or criminal activity. Many hotels have increased uniformed and plainclothes security in their public areas. The highly publicized terrorist attacks at hotels in India, Egypt, Israel, Pakistan and Kenya have spurred hotels all over the world to step up security training and institute new and highly restrictive regulations governing pedestrian and vehicle movement near their property. These include placing concrete barriers along driveways leading to the lobby doors, checking underneath vehicles that approach the hotel and using key card access in guestroom elevators. In addition, more hotel employees are now wearing photo IDs, especially kitchen workers, housekeeping staff and any employees who work within physical proximity to guests.

“Private sector security companies have the ability to supply protection for business travelers on overseas trips. This protection can be in many forms, and in varying degrees,” said James Spratt, a retired sergeant from the New York City Police Department, currently working in the security field with Michael Stapleton Associates.

“There are very few, if any, security companies that have the ability to supply an armed escort on a commercial airliner. Companies that deal with executive protection abroad usually have counterparts in various countries.”

Spratt, an experienced security consultant who has personally provided security for a number of corporate executives, said that his overseas counterparts who work for American firms usually can provide armed protection within their area of operation once the executive arrives in-country.

“Last year’s incident in Mumbai is an example of why a company would need a security plan in place to remove its executives out of a hostile environment,” Spratt said. “In Mumbai precious time was lost as companies had to first check whether they indeed had employees in India and then track down their specific location at the exact time of the attacks. The entire process could be contracted out to a security firm that possesses the resources to not only track and protect the employees but to react quickly in a crisis.”

The three travel incidents mentioned in the opening of this article are just a few out of millions of scary personal travel experiences that occur every day around the world. The Riegals, whose motor home interior was sprayed with gas, did everything they could to avoid trouble. They parked in a public camping area and locked their vehicle doors before going to sleep.

The only thing they would have done differently, they say now, would be to slide the windows shut over the screens before retiring. Leaving photocopies of their passport numbers and credit card information with a friend in the United States helped ease the paperwork after they reached the U.S. consulate in Paris the next day.

The Raponis, robbed in a midtown New York hotel, never gave a thought to anyone lurking in the hallway. Today, they say they are always more vigilant about hotel corridors, and never approach their guestroom door if they sense another person in the vicinity.

The two young men on the beach in Rio should have known better. They admit they lost track of time and had even read the local tourist office warnings to avoid the beach after dark. This incident certainly could have been prevented.

Travel safety is of utmost importance these days as travelers face a multitude of potential problems wherever they go. Although you cannot protect yourself against every possible danger, it is important to always stay focused, travel smart and be alert whenever you leave home.

ID Alert

If you are a victim of ID theft or lose your ID documents, act immediately.

• In the United States, contact the Federal Trade Commission (tel 877 438 4339, http://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov), which is authorized to receive and process identity theft complaints.

• Abroad, contact the local police department and the nearest American consulate.

• Call your credit card companies, local law enforcement agencies and other appropriate agencies, such as:

• Postal Inspection Service (tel 877 876 2455)

• Social Security Administration (tel 800 269 0271)

• Internal Revenue Service (tel 800 829 0433)

• Major credit reporting bureaus (TransUnion, tel 800 680 7289; Equifax, tel 800 525 6285; and Experian, tel 888 397 3742)

Test your knowledge of ID protection with the Identify Theft Quiz at the U.S. Department of Justice Web site (http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idquiz.html).