Who are you? | Auckland News | Local News in Auckland

Valerie Schuler looks into the scary realities of stalking and finds out what to do if it happens to you.

Roz* was vacuuming her car at a central Auckland petrol station last Saturday afternoon when she noticed a strange man watching her from his parked car.

"He had a shaved head and tattoos and just sat there staring at me. I wasn't too worried until he followed me out of the service station and waved at me in the rearview mirror," says the 40-year-old.

The man followed Roz all the way to St Lukes, through Kingsland, and back onto the motorway into the city.

"I tried to pretend to be relaxed. But when he ran a red light to keep up with me, my heart started beating at a hundred miles an hour. I was driving along, thinking 'where, where will I go?'. My first thought was work, but then he would know that's where he can find me."

The man stayed on her trail for well over half an hour. Roz eventually pulled into the forecourt of a busy inner-city hotel and asked the concierge for help. The stalker gave up and drove away. Roz was safe, but anxious and severely shaken.

Sadly, incidents like this are not rare. So, what should you do if you think you are being followed by another motorist?

Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty says what Roz did was a "wise move".

"The best thing to do is to go somewhere there is 24-hour attendance, like a 24-hour police station or gas station. Don't go anywhere secluded or that is related to your identity."

Ms Hegarty says if a person feels threatened or intimidated by someone else's behaviour, the perpetrator can be charged with intimidation. If someone who is being followed arrived at an attended police station, they would definitely be given assistance. Her other advice is to keep the car doors locked and pull over in a public area to call 111 for help on a cellphone. Also, write down a detailed description of the suspect driver and their car's registration number to give to police. "It may be that the person has done this 15 times before and this adds to a pattern of behaviour and intelligence gathering," says Ms Hegarty.

Kevin Loughlin, a spokesman for Waitemata Police District, says the most practical thing to do is to call 111 or alert a police patrol car.

"You are looking at immediacy and there may not always be a 24-hour police station nearby."

Roz says she will report her ordeal. "Who knows? Maybe the same guy has done this before. I also want to put a warning out to other people, so they know what to do if the same thing happens to them."

* Name withheld to protect privacy.

What to do if you are being followed