Keep auto thieves out of your ride.
Think about how dependent you are on your car or truck. Without it, how do you get to your job or to the bank or to the grocery store? In fact, about the only place you wouldn’t to go without a car is the gas station. For everything else, we’re a society that has become almost completely dependent on our motorized transportation.
Now, how would you feel if your car was suddenly missing from your driveway or the parking space you used at a restaurant? It could happen.
After eight consecutive years of decline, vehicle theft is on the rise again in the United States, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Showing the most noticeable rise in auto theft during 2012 were the western states, particularly California and Washington.
Here are some statistics you might find interesting:
• A motor vehicle is stolen every 44 seconds in the U.S.
• 40 to 50 percent of vehicle theft is due to driver error and only about half of the vehicles are recovered.
• The most popular items that attract thieves are the engine, transmission, air bags, radios, GPS navigation systems, iPods, laptops and purses.
However, there are some steps you can take to lessen the chances of becoming an auto theft victim. Here are eight of them from Consumer Reports:
• Lock your car. It is common sense that many thefts happen to unlocked vehicles. The goal is to make your car less desirable than others, and a locked door is a simple deterrent.
• Never leave your car running unattended and always take your keys with you. Otherwise, you are inviting thieves to drive off with your ride.
• Keep windows closed when you park and leave your vehicle. A slender arm or clothes hanger can reach in through even a narrow opening to unlock the door.
• Don’t store valuables or expensive electronics in plain sight. Don’t create an unnecessary temptation: take portable devices with you.
• Park in a well-lighted, public place when running errands and at home. Also, a car will be safer in a garage than in a driveway or at a curb.
• Use a visual warning device, such as a blinking light, as a deterrent. An alarm can be effective, but it is even better if the crook doesn’t break into the vehicle in the first place. If your car is not factory-equipped with these features, they can be installed at a local automotive stereo shop.
• Smart keys or a fuel cut-off system, a.k.a. engine immobilizer, are standard on many late-model cars and can add security. Thieves are less likely to steal a car they cannot start.
• For advanced protection, install a GPS or radio frequency tracking system in your vehicle to help police find it.
Have you ever had a car or truck stolen? If so, are you doing anything differently now to keep it from happening again?
A blinking light doesn’t deter. My wifes 2006 Buick has been entered in the handicap space at Olivegarden twice with the alarm set, No damage to the vehicle. First time we were out $900 for I pad and other things. Second time we had some banana bread wrapped in foil. I guess they thought it was drugs.
Another thing you can do to keep your car from being towed away from a pull in parking space by it’s rear with a tow truck is just before you get out always turn your front wheels all the way to the left or right and it can then Not be lifted in the rear by a tow truck and towed away, Almost impossible and it will cause the thieves to move on to other card !
I drive an older car that makes it unattractive to theives but I also keep an NRA cap on my dashboard. Just to let any potential theives know that I’m not messing around.
My previous “nicer car” just had a battery operated blinking light stuck on the face of the dashboard. That looked enough like an alarm system that anybody would think it had one installed.
You also have to be very careful to not get in your car, look in the windshield or mirror just to see a piece of paper on your car and then get out to retrieve it. If this ever happens, before getting out, make sure that you look around. See who is standing close by and check the side mirrors because many thieves wait till you get out to get the paper the jump it and drive away. This has happen several times by some young punks for no other reason than just trying to get a fast ride to somewhere. Always know your surroundings and even when pulling up to intersections. Never pull up to an intersection and not try to at least look at the hedges, building corners, and anything that may hide potential preditors that are close. Try to see if someone is hiding behind them. Look at building windows to check reflections of people stand around corners wait for opportunities to carjack. One more thing, always do a drive around at drive-up ATMs that’s a good place to lose everything -your car, your cash, as well as possibly your life. Justy an FYI.
Hell, have them come to my house. I have a couple of cars that I would give’em for free. My wife has been on my case for years to get rid of these cars since my son decided to leave them in my driveway. I’ll even leave the doors unlock for them. LOL
Seriously, if you want to keep your car, truck, motorcycle, and airplane safe from thieves, put two devices in them. !.) Low Jack It is a bit expensive, however, their tract record speaks for itself. 2.) a GPS chip. This is a device when activated will give out its location when a code is entered. Most of the major trucking companies have one of these devices in their trucks and trailers.
Other than that, you will need a good photograph of the item you wish to protect, get all the VIN numbers and part numbers that will assist in identifying your vehicle and keep them in a secure location at home. Make sure you don’t have a hide-away-key on your vehicle under the bumper or inside the engine compartment. It is one of the first places a car thief will look; if they are of the low intelligence type. Have a kill switch put in. This should be done where you need to turn or push a button while turning the ignition key. I know it is so 50’s but it works. Finally, you can get an alarm that will activate and send you a text message that something is wrong. Remember, most noise alarms shut off when the car is raised. There is a switch that turns it off because it thinks it is being towed. Don’t forget, everyone one has the same noise alarm, when it sounds off it usually goes un-noticed.
Most cars are stolen because you have let your guard down in some way. When I train people, I tell them to do the same thing in the same sequence, (the same way), every time. That way they won’t forget to do something. It is when they get rushed and go out of sequence that they forget and leave something out of their routine which ends up costing them. I hope this helps.
Well said. You’re correct.
“Smart keys or a fuel cut-off system, a.k.a. engine immobilizer, are standard on many late-model cars” OK but for my Classic, I’ve installed a cutoff switch for my ignition with the switch in a non visible location. Might replace the manual switch with a remotely controlled switch.
Look at Ravelco .. passive akatm systen .. and add insurance by Swith and Messon
a rental car company had 2 cars stolen, cops found them after computers were turned off
I made the tragic error of parking my pickup at my jobsite and leaving a cd player in the dash. Since it was such a cheap and crappy unit, I never expected any serious thief to consider it worth stealing. My mistake. I now live in upstate NY and on my acreage have six dogs. No thief would dream of trying to steal anything off my property now, and I never leave my vehicle parked anywhere else I can’t keep an eye on it. No electronic gadgetry which would be ignored at any rate, just a psychotic chihuahua to guard it when I’m out of the vehicle to purchase groceries or other necessities. My wife takes our collie with her when she goes to town. No vehicle was ever better protected. Even beats the ‘trunk monkey’.
You be careful about leaving those dogs in your car in the summer. It gets real hot, real fast.
Also, a dog can be called aggressive for “guard barking” and confiscated…or worse.
Sorry, but I don’t think this article is correct. It is probably correct for a lot of people but I don’t own a motor vehicle and have not owned one for several years. I gave up my vehicle when I figured out that I could bicycle to every place I needed to go… except for very rare occasions when I could take a taxi or have a ride with a friend. I intentionally live near a grocery store, bank, shopping mall, and anything I need. So I have not missed having a vehicle at all. I also gave up my cell phone many years ago and have not missed it either. I have no tracking devices and travel free of government snoops. It’s wonderful!
Linda, you obviously don’t have children or need to work out of your car. I do. And I am mobility challenged so cannot ride a bike very well. Clients would go elsewhere if I did not have a cell phone.
The same type of people that steal cars will also steal bike. I used to commute by bike and had it stolen, don’t think just because you don’t have a car it can’t happen to you.
Had my Honda CRX broken into a few years ago. The thief got no where because while trying to break the lock with a screw driver he grounded out the wires and blow the master fuse in the engine compartment. Lesson learned: get a cut off kill switch hidden under the dash to disable the car when parked.
One comment about hiding valuables,,Do not put in trunk when you park,,some watch for that. Put valuables into hiding somewhere else before you park ,, such as gas station,grocery etc where you don’t park.
don’t leave a garage door opener in your car. if your car is stolen, this would be an ivitation to also rob your house
I have a garage door opener and GPS in my car to help the thief bring me my car back.
When he gets to my home, I’ll have my car delivered home trouble free and a nice leaded surprise waiting for him!
I don’t own a car. No expensive insurance to worry about, and I live in an area where there’s good old public transportation for now. I’m thinking about buying a bicycle. I used to own a scooter, and hauled my groceries home in a red flyer wagon attached to the back. Very economical. I also enjoy walking. Lots to see when you’re out on your own two feet, things we forget are there and can’t appreciate while behind the wheel. While I understand there are people who live in the country and need to rely on transportation to get around, sorry to hear about your predicament.
Yea, I had a couple of idiots try to steal my ride in Northern Virginia. It was around 1 AM, tne dog woke me and with a little investigating I found them in the car trying to get the car started. A 12 gague changed their minds and while we waited, my wife called the cops. Funny thing, they never came back… A side note, the cops wern’t happy with me either. I wonder why?…
You didn’t give the cops a chance to pull their guns . . . they might have shot someone that night if you were Jonny on the spot. :-)
I moved from NYC after stolen, and recovered 2x same year, in front of my apartment. In upstate NY now, they just bust the windows, steal hats and coats, but leave the car. I also drive a 1995 pickup, which has (so far) had very little appeal…must be the really bad gas mileage. lol.
How do you get a radio frequency alarm syatem, or what other realiable systems are available?
Lyn,
I believe a specific brand name for an RF alarm system is “Lo Jack.”
On Star is another brand name.