4 Ways To Stop Vehicle Thefts

Tuesday January 22, 2019

Sources say that only 55% of the total cars stolen are recovered, rarely in the condition, they were last seen by the owner.

Stolen cars could be stripped down for valuable parts, crashed during a joy ride or ditched while fleeing law enforcement. Some of them are shipped overseas to be resold.

The crime is sustained, and the rates are relentlessly rising. The next victim of car theft could be you, could be me.

Here’s when you realize how “learning to prevent car thefts” is the knowledge you immediately need. You want to get and spread the information before it is too late, don’t you?

Read on to get the appropriate education about theft prevention. We bring you the top tips that you can apply on a personal level to safeguard your vehicles. Let’s get started –

Read Also:  How Can I Track My Car With My Phone?

1.   Apt places for parking

Don’t be in a hurry to go out and have fun, parking your car in the first vacant slot you see. Judge the parking lot until you’re completely satisfied. Here’s what you should take care of while parking –

• Park your car in a well-lit area
• Make sure the surrounding is moderately crowded
• Try to park in areas under CCTV surveillance
• If parking in a public garage, try to keep it close to the attendant, nearer to a security camera and adjoined by other cars, not in isolated, easily accessible slots
• Avoid dark and remote locations for parking as much as you can
• When parking on a road, turn the wheels into the curb.

2.      The key

Take care of your keys by following these thumb rules

• Keeping your keys secure goes without saying, but always make sure that the key is out of sight and out of reach for anyone except you (applicable in and outside the house).
• Never leave your keys inside the car, put at ignition, on the seat or even the console, not at home or anywhere else, not in daylight or ever. Approximately 20% stolen vehicles are the ones in which the keys have been left in the ignition. Carelessness could make you one of the easiest targets of thieves.
• Never place your spare keys inside the vehicle, secure them inside the house, accessible to only a handful of trustworthy people.
• Most keys nowadays come along with a memory chip inevitably making it impossible to hot wire the car (as they used to do earlier). Look for a vehicle that offers one.
• Don’t just rely on the key fob for locking, some thieves use ‘jammers’ to intercept the signal between the fob and the car, unlocking the vehicle within a blink of an eye. So always double check the lock physically before going away.

3.      Don’t leave things on the show

Always make sure to take along all your valuable belongings while abandoning the vehicle.

If you absolutely have to leave an important item in your car, put it in the trunk, but be careful to not come into anyone’s notice while doing so.

Objects like phone, briefcases, gym bags, wallets, laptops and paperwork attract thieves the most. So make sure to hide them as many times as possible.

Also, don’t put service records and logbooks inside the vehicle when it’s unattended. If the car gets stolen, these documents could help thieves sell the car and make you more vulnerable to identify fraud.

4.      Technology at your rescue

40% of the insurance companies offer a premium discount for vehicles that have one or more anti-theft devices installed. That’s because these devices help a big hand in car theft prevention.

We have various physical anti-theft devices available in the market; we’re naming and describing a few here.

• The first and primary device is a car alarm. And put a sticker on your car mentioning that it possesses alarms to deter low-key thieves immediately.
• Devices like the pedal lock, wheel lock, hood lock, and steering lock make your vehicle multiple times safer. They do not cost a fortune and do last long. Although they require you to put them on and off each time you use the car, they are a great safety investment.
• A kill switch could be installed inside the car. It interrupts one of the critical systems in the vehicle, such as the ignition, electrical or fuel system, and can be disabled by a code or a key.
• Another option is electronic immobilizers that prevent hot wiring of the vehicle. The car would start only when the immobilizer receives an RFID code from the key (or the key fob).Vehicle
• Addition of tracking devices is also highly preferable. Although they’re not true anti-theft devices, they certainly hike the chances of recovery in case your car is stolen in spite of all the efforts.

Few handpicked anti-theft devices (according to asecurelife.com) are-

Brake pedal lock	The Club CL606
Steering wheel lock	The Club 1000 Original
Tire lock	Trimax TCL65 Wheel Chock Lock
Car hood lock	Estink Hood Lock
Professional kill switch	Ravelco
Electronic immobilizer	iBlue Immobilizer
Professional tracking system	LoJack

Conclusion

These were the top tips to protect your beloved vehicle from being taken away from you. So follow the basics, keep the inside tidy, shut the windows and lock all the doors. And most of all be careful, all day, every day.