How can you stop the most common method of car theft?
Just imagine waking in the middle of the night to find that someone is stealing your pride and joy from your garage, or waking up in the morning to find that you car has been taken. What can you do to prevent the most common methods of car theft!
1. Don't leave your car keys visible through windows or doors. If thieves can see your keys unattended, there is more incentive for them to do whatever it takes to get hold of them.
2. Don't leave your car keys lying around in obvious places. Do you leave your keys on the kitchen bench, desks or key hooks? If a thief can gain entry into your home, it is likely they will find the keys. Keep keys hidden in the house, or better still, in a safe.
3. Don't leave your car keys in close proximity to your vehicle of in the ignition. They may seem straight forward, but modern technology allows some cars to be started without having to put the keys into the ignition. As long as the key is within range of the car, it can be started by a push of a button inside the car, or turn of the ignition lock.
Little know facts about car thefts.
The Modern car security system is getting smarter...and so is the modern car thief!
Hot wiring a car by twisting wires together and driving away is generally a thing of the past. The modern car security systems are difficult, if not impossible, to bypass easily, especially in high value vehicles, so thieves are resorting to smarter methods to steal your car. Nowadays thieves will target the one thing that can easily bypass the car security system - the car keys. The National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council estimates thieves accessing the car keys are used in more than 70% of thefts.
Thieves steal your car by getting access to your keys!
The common method of obtaining the car keys are during private or commercial building burglaries, or at recreational areas such as gyms, beaches and swimming pools. However, in many recent car theft cases thieves have targeted homes. The thieves have broken in to houses or gained entry through unlocked doors or windows, located the keys and simply driven away.
Home car thefts are on the rise!
This type of theft is now prevalent in NSW, whereas it was more common in QLD and VIC in previous years. New figures show that 42%2 of cars stolen in NSW are taken from homes and the figure has risen by 7% in the past five years3. Most thieves are opportunistic, so make sure your home isn't their golden ticket.
Source: Dawes Motor Insurance Report – Stop the most common method of car thefts, December 2011.
1: Claims Report, Dawes Motor Insurance
2: Jim O’Rourke, June 2011, To keep you car, hide the keys, Sydney Morning Herald
3: Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2010.