The Story of US Vehicle Security Group
Our story was born in the terrifying events that rapidly unfolded on a sunny afternoon in a city in South America several years ago. Two members of our founder's family (we will call them Charles and Rose) were driving to their next business appointment, when an unexpected assault turned their lives upside down. Waiting for the light to turn green, Charles and Rose were suddenly surrounded by bandits in four cars. In a blink of an eye, the bandits jumped out, leveled their weapons, and shouted for Charles and Rose to get out of their car. They refused, knowing they were about to be kidnapped. The gunmen would surely kill them even if they received a ransom. Seconds passed, and the bandits opened fire. Bullets began flying everywhere, including into the bulletproof windows of the rental car.
As the saying goes, "necessity is the mother of invention." It is especially true in the world of safety and security products.
Thinking fast, the couple's driver rammed the surrounding cars enough to create an opening for escape. Unfortunately, before they could accelerate, the bandits shot out the car's tires, causing the driver to lose control and smash into a parked car. Now trapped in a bullet-ridden car that could no longer move, Charles and Rose ducked to the floor. Bullets from automatic weapons continued to shatter all the glass. They knew they would surely die. But just in time, a bystander who had been watching this kidnapping attempt unfold from his car raced forward and slammed into the bandits, wounding several and causing them to flee empty-handed. With the bandits now gone, nearby spectators ran to the destroyed car and pulled Charles and Rose out to safety.
Kidnappings and shootings, a regular day in Latin America
It is an unfortunate aspect of life in many Latin American cities that hijackings and kidnaping often happen in broad daylight, in front of lawful citizens going about their daily lives. Successful business executives and families of means prefer to travel in armored cars for the much-needed protection. If they did not own an armored vehicle, they could easily rent one for their journey.
Such was the case with Charles and Rose. After the day's terrifying kidnapping attempt, Charles’ and Rose’ father called the rental car company. He demanded to know why the armored car he had rented for his family members did not provide a safe escape. How was it possible that the gunmen could quickly stop the vehicle by shooting out the tires? The rental car agent explained that, yes, the car body and windows were indeed bulletproof, but the tires were not. At the time, no one thought it was essential to equip an armored car with run flat tires.
That is when our founder started his new business, US Vehicle Security Group. His goal was to make people aware of the importance of run flat tire inserts as part of total protection. The armored vehicle industry should make it standard to equip vehicles with run flat tire inserts as well as ballistic glass and materials.