If you have been corresponding for a while with your online friend, it's only natural that both of you will meet up. That is of course if both of you click and get along famously. When you are arranging for a get together for the first time, there are a few precautions you need to observe just for your own safety. Here are some of the precautions you need to observe:

Meet at a public place

Make the first date in a public place. That way if you don't feel comfortable and wish to leave, he can't force you to stay without starting a scene. A public place also takes the pressure off the date as it is an informal setting.

Meet during the day

For the first meeting, it's wise to make it a lunch or brunch. Dinner is somehow more formal of the two and it is harder to extricate yourself from a dinner date. If you are not having a good time, you can always excuse yourself saying that you have an errand to run.

Take public transport

It would be wise not to drive to the meeting place. If you absolutely have to then park some distance from the meeting place. It is not wise to reveal your car registration number as a lot of information and be made available if he has your car registration number. Although you may think that you have corresponded online for a period of time, always bear in mind that there's always the possibility that the person you know online is assuming another identity.

Bring a friend

Bringing a girlfriend along is a marvelous idea. However if you intend to do that, you should at least drop hints to the guy first. Don't want him to feel displeased when two of you showed up when he was only expecting you. Alternatively, you could arrange to have a girlfriend or a few of them dropping by to the venue of your 'date' and take a seat near you. This way, your girl friends can also check out your date and share their opinion with you.

Remember to bring your cell phone

If none of your girl friend take time out to accompany you, remember to bring your cell phone and have them call you at a certain interval. This is a two pronged strategy. First is to check on your safety and the second is to eject you out from a bad date!

Do not change location

Whatever you do, do not change the location of your date at the eleventh hour. This will
waylaid all your earlier arrangements to have friends stake out at your date venue. If he really can't make it on time for some reason or another then just cancel the date and meet up another time.
You are putting yourself at risk of date rape if you agree to last minute location changes.

Do not disclose personal information

A very IMPORTANT rule to remember is that you should not disclose your personal information such as your address. This is to prevent him from stalking you.
Be cautious but do have a good time too! and at the same time you can secure a second date easily.