Who is David Pugh?

I’m just a regular guy, reasonably fit for my age but no athlete, no ex-special forces guy that’s for sure. But, what I am is a family man who loves his family and will do anything to protect and keep them safe. I do not like to rely on anyone else, nor do I need to because I am prepared and in possession of a strong survival mindset. I am capable and confident in my prepper abilities, and after completion of this 7 key step plan I believe so will you.

The Start of my Prepping Journey

My friends know me as “Dingo Dave” a nickname earnt in 1985 during a year spent hitchhiking and travelling around Australia. A chance encounter with a wild dingo (Australian wild dog) in the outback near Alice Springs probably started my “being prepared” or Prepper journey. I was hiking in a very remote location and no one knew where I was, nor would I have quickly been looked for or found had I never returned. Mobile phones or even the internet was not even a thing back in those days (yes, I am that old)

Being an avid animal lover, especially with a fondness towards dogs, whilst eating some of my packed lunch I spotted a dingo cautiously eyeing my food. Dingos, to my mind, look like emancipated German Shepherds (Alsatian dogs), so feeling a bit sorry for this sad looking “dog” in such a hot waterless red dust landscape made me decide to share some of my lunch. After throwing him some ham from my sandwich, he decided it tasted far better than his usual fare of rabbit or road kill and thus emboldened he made a play for the rest of my lunch. As I discovered, Dingos have surprisingly big and numerous teeth for such small looking dogs!

There was a short scuffle and a little blood letting, mainly on my side, but even today 35 yrs on there remains a faint trace of a scar on my hand from our wild encounter. Symbolically, in my mind, this is exactly how I see city life quickly becoming should our civilised society falter and our population suddenly run out of food. People will soon turn into crazed rabid animals when faced with no way of feeding themselves or their families!

The moral of the story, I guess is this was my unconscious beginnings of becoming more Boy Scout, with a “Be Prepared” mindset, something that remains part of my core values to this very day.

Consequently, after this incident I travelled with a couple of extra things so I was more “prepared”, a knife (I know not very politically correct in todays UK climate, but knives when sensibly used are a key and vital prepper tool / emergency method for self defence), plus I carried a small first aid kit and a torch….the beginning’s of my first Every Day Carry Bag (EDC), not that the bag even had a name back then!

When I reflect back over a life well lived involving lots of traveling and adventures, I have experienced many a dramatic encounter, each one of these slowly transitioning me further and further along my Prepper lifestyle journey. I was never actually conscious of even being a prepper until about 3 years ago. Whilst watching some of the US Netflix television series such as Doomsday Preppers, Doomsday Bunkers, American Preppers, Southern Survival etc that it dawned on me I had evolved into a true Prepper and I found that my hobby actually had a name for it as well. I discovered I was indeed a “Prepper” and actually I was far from being the only one with this mind set too.

How Prepping has saved me and others

Just to give some relevance to my prepper choices, here are some key moments in my life, that has over time, transformed this average Joe into a true prepper:

• The wild Dingo meeting already mentioned

• I once saw a car crash, directly in front of me and it rolled onto its roof. The doors were crushed shut and I had to kick in the rear windscreen to get the occupants out. It is surprisingly difficult to kick in a windscreen in trainers.  So from that day forward I always try and have to hand a glass breaker and seat belt cutter be it in my car or in my EDC Bag (Every Day Carry). These days its become a common little device which many people now carry in their car or have attached on their car keyring.

• My teenage son once got attacked by a group of youths and got slashed with a knife, he needed stitches and now has a visible scar near his eye as a daily reminder of this nasty incident. After this, I did a lot of research into the best and most effective form of self-defence. I ended up selecting Krav Maga, an Israeli special force fighting system. It was great fun training with my son, Ironically, he was the youngest in the class and I was the oldest.  Interestingly, I subsequently discovered that Krav Maga is the fighting and self-defence system most widely endorsed by prepping groups. I believe that is because it is very much a “real life” hands-on fighting system. Not so much “Self Defence” as “Defence & Counter Attack”!

• 3 years later on I had 5 armed attackers break into my home, the instincts from training Krav Maga kicked in and on autopilot and “muscle memory” from my training drills, I managed to put up enough of a fight that they eventually fled empty-handed. Had I not been prepared with my training; things would definitely have ended up very differently. That one made the news a fair bit!

• I once came across someone who was having a heart attack, thankfully 999 were really great and talked me through what to do and the ambulance quickly very arrived. However, I was left feeling that had I not being able to so easily call 999 for assistance, maybe whilst out hiking somewhere remote with no mobile phone reception etc, that I was ill-equipped to offer effective lifesaving aid. Consequently, a week later I booked to attend a Medic First Aid & CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) Course. So should something like this ever happen again I will be better equipped to give effective assistance. Hence why my EDC bag (every day carry bag) now even has a CPR face mask in it. (these masks make giving the “kiss of life” safer for you in case there’s blood, vomit etc all over the victim’s face, or like during COVID-19 when you would not offer breathes especially without a protective mask). Learning at the very least some form of basic First Aid is essential for everyone.

• I have seen accidents occur during mountain hiking, and this has led me to carry emergency aluminium space blankets, first aid kits etc in order that I can offer some level of at least basic help. There have been many times when my stash of plasters, antiseptic cream, paracetamol and especially anti-diarrhoea tablets have been very gratefully received by fellow hikers in some level of urgent help. Being prepared is NOT about only facing huge disasters, it is all about being better equipped to deal with whatever life may throw at you, large or small.

• A couple of severe winters ago my car got stuck in deep snow. The breakdown services could not reach me until the following day. Having a “prepared” mentality meant during winter my car always had a emergency box of blankets, water, food, emergency strobe lights, a fully charged mobile phone power bank etc……all of which made my night stranded in my car far more bearable. Following this chilly night spent stranded in my car overnight, I now also carry snow chains. Prepping is a lifestyle and you will keep learning and evolving based on what life sends your way.

Being a prepper means constant learning and improving your prepper readiness based on your life and the everyday events in it. “If you fail to prepare, then prepare to fail” is one of my favourite phrases.

The Preppers Traffic Light System – 7 step plan

The Preppers Traffic Light System is a framework I created to help other on their prepping and survival journey. The aim is to breakdown, what can be seen as complicated and extreme, into manageable, everyday activities and tops. In the Preppers Traffic Light System I concentrate on 3 levels of preparedness; Beginner, Proficient & Advanced Prepping.

 You can choose how far you wish to take your preparedness journey, whatever works best to fit in with your & your families lifestyle. Let’s take a look at how the Preppers Traffic Light System breaks down:

• The GREEN pages: This section is for people to  “START” their Prepper journey.  These are the biggest and most vital fundamental steps in being “Prepped & Ready”. The lessons you learn here are the basics, but they could very well save a life.

• The AMBER pages: Stay in green or work up to next level preparedness. The “PROFICIENT” level. These Amber tasks & lessons will take you slightly more out of your comfort zone, as you learn how to be even better prepared in readiness for more serious situations.

• The RED pages: Keen to even further develop your skills? The “ADVANCED” level is true Prepper territory.  Don’t STOP Now…You love this stuff & are all in with your prepper lifestyle & skills.

Within these pages we breakdown our “Prepped & Ready” into 7 key steps which cover the following: 

1. Food, water & key supplies
2. Every Day Carry bag (EDC Bag)
3. Home-based security & defence
4. Medical supplies & first aid training
5. Bug Out Bag & bug out evacuation locations.
6. Shelter, fire building, wild foods & more advanced and survival techniques
7. Krav Maga & self-defence training

All the remains to be said is for you to enjoy what we have here. It’s a little sample of the knowledge I know can help you be more prepared the unexpected. If what you read is of interest then you will love my book which covers everything in detail.

To get started scroll on down and jump straight into the category that’s right for you.