Since the terrible night two years ago when she was viciously attacked and left for dead by a man who was pretending to be a home buyer, RE/MAX agent Joan Malone has wondered what could she have done differently. How could she have protected herself? What safety devices would have helped?

In Malone's case a weapon wouldn't have helped her. She was attacked from behind, stabbed twice in the chest and once in the neck. There would not have been time to retrieve pepper spray or another weapon from her handbag. But she did have her keys in her hand. As she fell to the floor, losing consciousness, she would have had time to activate a distress call if her key fob had such a device.

Two years later, on the anniversary of her attack, Malone has a personal safety key fob, a device created by Dallas-based Lanyard Technologies. Malone is the first agent to test and adopt the Lanyard 100, a vehicle-based emergency identification, location and response system using proprietary technology. With it, an individual can summon instant assistance via a hand-held transmitter, known as Smarty(TM), from anywhere (indoors or outdoors) within 1000 feet of the vehicle. Smarty is the size of a key fob.

If Malone had such a device in her possession when she was attacked, it would not have prevented her injuries, but she would have been able to summon help much more quickly. As it was, she hovered between life and death for several days.

"First, I wouldn't have lain unconscious and bleeding for more than 20 minutes before receiving help, and second, he (the attacker) would have been tracked as he fled in my car and then promptly caught," Malone said. Malone's attacker was apprehended days later.

Lanyard Technologies made news when it became the first company to outfit an entire community with personal safety devices for use inside the home. Malone's device is different. It is for the mobile person - tailor-made for the dangerous situations in which Realtors sometimes find themselves.

Larry Joy, director of research and development for Lanyard Technologies said, "We were aware of Joan's unfortunate incident, and we used her experience and input to bring the product to the market."

In a chilling mental re-enactment of what happened to her, Malone confirmed that with a remote key fob that she would have been able to activate the alarm.

Malone beta-tested the Lanyard 100 for a month using typical agent field work as a testing ground. She showed houses, met clients and did all the mobile activities she would normally do, testing the device periodically for response times.

"This is the next step for mobile protection outside of your local community. As long as you are within 500 feet of your car, you have protection," says Joy. "The Lanyard 100 works even if you are on the road or hundreds of miles from home."

The Lanyard works by combining three technologies to make a unit - global positioning satellite (GPS,) cellular technology and Lanyard's proprietary technology. technology to make a unit. The remote fob talks to the car, the car calls the monitoring center, the call personnel can locate the car and using information about the individual owner and the car, help is dispatched. When the call center gets the alarm, if the agent is able to communicate, they will establish contact via his/her own cellular phone, or with the cellular unit that Lanyard has installed in the car.

"We can talk to the person in the car once they activate an emergency call," says Joy.

Agents don't have to wait for emergencies to use the service. Many agents show homes in the evening. If an agent feels she is being followed, the unit can be activated and the call personnel will talk to her and stay with her until she is safe at home.

The Lanyard 100 system has an approximate 30-second response time and alerts the nearest police department of the exact location (within 125 feet) of the individual's vehicle.

"At the first hint of danger, the system can be activated and trained police officers, who know exactly where the subscriber's car is, will be on the way," said Richard R. Jaffe, founder and CEO of Dallas-based Personal Security & Safety Systems, Inc. (PSSI), which developed the technology.

Malone tested her Lanyard 100 system on the anniversary date of her attack. "I had a client with me, and I said 'Set your watch and we'll see how long it takes.' The response time was less than a minute. I then said, 'Tell me where I am.' The reply was 'Park and Woodbine at Churchill Court.' Churchill Court is only a quarter of a block long, so that's really pinpointing," she explained.

Malone endorses the Lanyard 100 as an affordable solution to personal safety issues. The cost for the unit is $900 and there is monthly fee of $14.95.

"We are each responsible for our own personal safety," advises Malone.

Lanyard Technologies is an affiliate of Personal Security & Safety Systems Inc. and headquartered at 10210 N. Central Expressway, Suite 200, Dallas, TX 75231. For more information www.personalsecuritysafety.com.
Telephone: 214-739-0800