Stolen Vehicles – VC 10851
Here are just a few tips from NetCops:
· Thieves look for easy targets. Leave a car running in a driveway or parking lot with keys in it, how much easier than that can it get? Some thieves even walk through residential neighborhoods looking for just that. It’s easy, jump in and go. Take the extra few minutes to sit in the car while it’s warming up. If possible, keep the car in a garage. (It won’t frost up and you can warm it up by driving slowly away) It’s not worth the lost hours after losing a stolen car trying to gain the 2 minutes warming it up unattended. You can have an extra key made to lock it up while warming up but it is still risky leaving a running car unattended whether it is locked or not. An unattended running car is a fast getaway for a car thief.
· Alarms are a good idea. There are alarms that activate from vibration, sound and motion. There are alarms that deactivate a vehicles electrical system or fuel supply and render the vehicle inoperable. There are even talking alarms warning a thief that they are too close. (We do not recommend these types of alarms. They usually cause more problems than there are worth aggravating passerby’s to the point of keying your vehicle) Some alarms are defeated, but the majority work. Most stolen vehicle reports or recovery reports that I write had no alarm system. While not sure-proof, they are a good deterrent.
· Steering wheel locks, ignition disablers, fuel cutoff sensors are all good deterrents too. If a thief steals a car and it stalls in the road 1/2 mile away, he is not going to raise the hood or call a tow truck. He’s going to grab another car without a theft-deterrent device. There are alot of gadgets on the market to help guard against vehicle theft. Some more effective than others. They work if they are used. An alarm does not work well if it is not turned on. A steering wheel lock does not work if it is laying in the back seat. A ignition disabler does not work if Part A is left plugged into Part B. Wheel locks do not work left in the package in the trunk, etc.
· The more valuable stuff you leave in a car, the more temptation to take. A thief sees a whole tool chest full of tools in the back of your truck, or lots of cool stuff in the car (the pull-out stereo that is left in, the cell phone on the seat, the 10 nicely wrapped christmas gifts, the $2500 laptop computer in the back) Too much to carry, mine as well take the car to carry all this cool stuff away.
· While it is virtually impossible to make your car completely theft-proof, you have a good chance to make it a difficult target for a thief. Remember that a thief wants an easy target. They don’t want to spend alot of time stealing a car. They don’t want noise, lights, or witnesses.
· Motion lights in the driveway, locking your car, taking valuables out, along with one or more theft-deterrent devices on the market will help make a thief pass your car up for easier pickings. And don’t make it easy for a thief by leaving a car running unattended. For a thief, that’s almost impossible to pass up. The harder you make your car to steal, the better chance you have of finding it where you last parked it.
