Car Articles

From the day that cars have been a popular medium of transport, they’ve also been popular with thieves. In earlier days, cars had very less or zero theft prevention systems fitted in and this made them easy takeaways for car stealers. But cars are now far more advanced and carry a decent amount of expensive equipments which not only make them a status symbol but also eye candy for criminals. Car thefts have become extremely common and this has been rising year on year. According to Interpol, almost 30 Lakh vehicles are stolen across the world every year and the sale of these stolen vehicles is valued at US $19 billion!

The American FBI’s Uniform Crime Report shows that a motor vehicle is stolen every 28.8 sec in the United States. These figures dictate that the U.S. tops the list of number of car thefts and other developed countries follow it in the list.

With increase in car anti-theft technologies, the sophistication of car lifters too has increased. In several cases, thieves even work in groups and even belong to organised crime networks. According to statistics, the actual theft happens within a time frame of 30 secs to 3 minutes. The stolen vehicles are disposed of just as soon as they are picked up. The most common ways to dispose vehicles are breaking it up and selling the parts, revamping the car completely thereby making it unrecognizable, and driving it out of the city to be sold in a distant and remote area.

The above definitely creates an extremely scary scene but it’s important to note that it is negligence on the part of the car owner that often leads to car theft. Responsible attention and care will surely minimise the chances of a car falling prey to thieves. Advanced technologies and security gadgets can assist in the preventing car thefts to a large extent but ultimately it is we who have to take enough precautions to safeguard our cars. Though it is not always possible to be around the car to keep watch, there are plenty of measures that can be taken as and when its possible.

It is a fact that nearly 20% of the stolen vehicles have the keys left inside. This is one of the simplest precautionary measures that can be taken. The second most common mistake people make is to leave the car unattended after leaving it unlocked. Again, a simple and avoidable mistake. It is important not to hide the duplicate key inside the car as an easy means to compensate one's forgetfulness. This could end up in your car being part of one of the easiest drive away thefts in the city.

Of all the car thefts that take place, most generally occur in dark areas where the cover of darkness makes the crime easy. Always park the car in a place which is well lit and close to movement of people. Thieves never like witnesses and would prefer unattended parking lots to a car parked in a dark corner of a busy street. So make sure you use attended parking lots wherever available. While parking in an attended parking lot or through valet parking, leave only the ignition key with the attendant.

The easiest way for someone to break into a car is through the window. Always check to make sure that all windows are completely closed before leaving your car. A car with visible valuables such as a premium audio system becomes a tempting target. Either carry these valuables with you instead of leaving them in the car or find a way to conceal them so that an outsider will be unable able to detect them.