Auto Theft Awareness Month
I have a routine every night when I get home from work. I empty my car of any change, CDs or any personal items. Save for a doggy blanket, I pretty much empty my car every night and then put the club on and lock it. Why? Because I've had my car broken into four times in Baltimore.
Once, there was nothing in the car to steal so they took off with my car battery. That was lovely. But the one that left me pretty disturbed was when they tried to jimmy the ignition to steal it.
So why am I telling you all this? Because July is Auto theft Awareness Month and whether you want to prevent someone from swiping your car or just ransacking it, there are steps you can take that might help. The Insurance Information Institute says the number of cars stolen has decreased between 2004 and 2007, but drivers should remain vigilant because auto theft continues to be a major problem with a million vehicles stolen annually.
To prevent your car from being stolen the I.I.I. recommends taking the following precautions:
Use a security device like a steering wheel lock or a gear shift column lock.
Keep your car in a garage and lock the garage door.
If you have to keep valuable personal property in your car, leave it in the trunk.
Park only in well-lighted areas. Never leave your car running while it is unattended.
The I.I.I. and the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) advises using a "layered approach" to auto theft protection. Beyond using anti-theft and vehicle immobilizing devices, such as fuel cut-offs and smart keys, the NICB recommends installing a Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to assist law enforcement in tracking a stolen vehicle. They also recommend checking the NICB's Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) before purchasing a used car; this can be done free of charge via the NICB's VINCheck.
If your car is stolen, have the following information ready to give to the police:
The year, make, model and color of the car and the license plate number.
The approximate time the car was stolen.
A description of anyone you may have seen loitering around your car before it was stolen.
The names of any witnesses.
The III also warns that one of the biggest misperceptions about auto thefts is where they occur. More than one-third of all vehicle thefts occur near the car owner's residence whereas one-fifth of these crimes are committed in parking lots. Another one in five thefts takes place when drivers leave their cars unattended, with the keys in the ignition.
Categories: Consumer protection, Consumer safety
Comments
A neighbor has a BMW Z3 convertible and actually keeps the doors unlocked to prevent theft/vanadlism of her car. This recently paid off when a couple of sub morons were trolling for items to steal out of cars on our block in broad daylight on a recent weekend in Baltimore City (they were caught, thus the "sub" prefix). They smashed another neighbor's passenger side window in an attempt to steal items left in plain view. However they entered/exited our BMW neighbor's car without taking or damaging anything. While keeping your car unlocked might not prevent thieves from messing with your car, it might minimize vandalism, particularly if you use the club or have a passive alarm (car can't be hot wired).
It's funny sometimes what cars thieves target. An old friend of mine one block away had an old 1965 Chevy Corvair that was in such disrepair that it literally wouldn't start unless it got a rolling start downhill and he popped the clutch. That's right; one day somebody stole it. It was recovered but we always wondered about the rationale and IQ of the perpetrator. In any event, it made for a good neighborhood story that has now passed into legend..
DD: My poor car was just an old Honda Civic on its last legs. And while I do leave the car unlocked sometimes to prevent window smashing, I'm pretty sure someone slept in my car on a rainy night. So now I lock it because I don't want to come out and surprise someone by accident (which would give me a monster heart attack).
Posted by: bob | July 21, 2008 12:54 PM