TravelMole Interview: Terry Riley, author and travel psychologist

There’s not a lot travelers can do about terrorism, but there are many things you can do to make travel safer, suggests travel psychologist Terry Riley. “The bad news about 9-11 is that some of our worries became displaced. There were something like 3,000 people killed, but only about 300 of them were travelers, so the rest were at work,” he told TravelMole. Mr Riley, who lectures regularly on travel safety issues, points out that travelers should keep up with current events and heed warnings from the US State Department about countries to avoid. But travelers should also know that there’s not a lot anyone can do about terrorism. “When law enforcement tell us danger is yellow or orange, what are we supposed to do? Law enforcement officials might want to know that, but other than being careful – which you should do anyway – what are the rest of us going to do about it?” he said. Mr Riley used to regularly appear at travel agent offices and suggest that agents offer added benefit by having him speak about the dangers of travel, but he met with no success. “I think agents are in the business of selling tickets, and they didn’t want to hear about dangers and hazards. They think it scares their clients,” he said. In reality, Mr Riley said, the biggest danger to travelers is not terrorism, but common street criminals. Mr Riley has published several books on the subject and has 22 top travel tips that include these: —Trust your instincts and listen to your internal warning system. —Tell your agent that safety is among your top concerns, or otherwise how will they know? —Study a map before you leave home to know where you are going and how to get there. —Pack a small flashlight. You may need it in an emergency. —Stay with others. There is safety in numbers. Report by David Wilkening