New Stats Show Your Stupidity Is The Modern Car Thief's Best Friend
Cars are more secure than ever, but there’s a rising trend in the USA for thefts involving the owner’s keys.
As bizarre as it sounds to any car guy or girl who guards their car key like it’s their first-born child, thefts where criminals have simply picked up keys when the car owner has left them lying around, or in the car itself, have risen 31 per cent between 2013 and 2015.
Whether it’s leaving the car running while grabbing a quick coffee, letting the car warm up alone outside the house, or just leaving keys on a coffee shop table while taking your cup back, thieves are increasingly taking advantage of car owners’ complacency, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). And it’s rarely just a mistake.
Winter is coming, in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway, and plenty of people still seem happy to let their car warm up unoccupied. People still leave them on their driveways and even the street to let them heat up, while they themselves retreat to the warmth their central heating made earlier.
But with California alone reporting 22,580 of these thefts using the proper keys over the three-year study period, it’s a type of crime we all need to be more aware of.
NICB President and CEO Joe Wehrle said: “Anti-theft technology has had a tremendous impact on reducing thefts over the past 25 years, but if you don’t lock it up, it’s not going to help.
“Complacency can lead to a huge financial loss and inconvenience for the vehicle owner. Leaving a vehicle unlocked or with the key or FOB inside gives a thief the opportunity to take not only the car, but also any possessions inside. It can also provide access to your personal information if the registration is left in the glove compartment.
“We have reports from our law enforcement partners that car thieves have stolen the car, driven it to the residence and burglarized the home before the owner even knew the vehicle was missing.”
If that doesn’t scare you into vigilance, we don’t know what will. Stay safe out there!
Comments
If you have keyless start you can turn the engine on and then leave and lock your car but really I don’t know why people keep doing this. It clearly says in the owner’s manual that it’s healthier for the engine to idle it for no more than 30 seconds when it’s really cold and then drive it gently at low revs with smooth acceleration for 5-10 minutes until it warms up.
Exactly.
It depends, for example I live very close to the highway, (around 3-4 minutes) and when it is around 0 Celsius, I idle the car for 1-2 minutes simply because I don’t want to merge on the highway with a cold engine, because the merging is done uphill, and to do highway speeds the engine is around 2500-3000 RPM, so I think it is still better to idle it a bit more than merging uphill with a cold engine.
I dont even like leaving my windows cracked when its hot, I think Ive reserved the right to be cautious when obviously everyone else has grown careless about their own personal property
Why don’t you take your damn car keys with you
I will just leave this here
It’s great having an older car with the car KEY and the remote for power door locks separate. I can leave the engine running, but also lock the doors so that I can go somewhere quick. I don’t understand the need to reinvent such a flawless system with all these new fobs and cards and whatnot.
I have a neighbor who does that, and I’m just waiting for someone to jack it to teach them a lesson. Too bad, we don’t have many grand theft autos happen around where I live, just thefts from cars.
That was a close one xD
OR just get an old Japanese banger from the nineties that nobody wants to steal anyway ;)
Also note that insurance doesn’t normally cover theft if the keys were in the car.
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