A recent innovation from car manufacturers is the unique stereo, which is designed to fit only one model of car. Since all other cars of the same model will be fitted with a radio already, there’s no point in stealing the radio.
Whichever method you decide to opt for, apply a little common sense as well: don’t display manufacturers’ window stickers advertising what a great stereo system you’ve got, and don’t leave speakers sitting on your rear shelf. Use a UV (ultra-violet) pen to mark your stereo with your postcode or registration number to help identify the equipment in the event that it is stolen. Keep a note of the serial number in a safe place at home (not in the car!).
For the thief, car parks offer a wide selection of cars to choose from. Unattended railway station car parks which are virtually deserted outside the rush hour are especially popular with criminals, but there are easy targets available in shopper’s car parks too, as car owners distracted by their kids or in a hurry to get to the shops forget to lock all the doors and secure the windows before leaving the car.
Eliminate that last-minute rush. Always allow time for parking when planning a journey. In a large city the search for a parking space can take as long as the journey itself. It’s tempting to park illegally when you’ve been driving round and round in circles with not a space to be seen. DON’T DO IT! It can be very costly, and it could leave you vulnerable to attack — if your car gets clamped you could have to wait in the car for hours until the unclamping team turns up. You may even have to abandon the car and find alternative means of getting home, especially late at night. Look at the signs to see if parking is legal and a time limit imposed. Some areas are for permit-holders only and the signs are few and far between. Wait until you find a legal parking place.
Don’t park the car on waste ground, in isolated rundown areas, and if it’s likely that you won’t be returning until it’s dark, bear in mind what your parking place will be like by then. Choose somewhere that’s well lit. In station and airport car parks, find a spot as near to the exit or a courtesy bus stop as possible. If you have to park in the street, choose a busy shopping street or somewhere your car is overlooked by offices by day and houses by night, not a dark, dingy alley. Retract the aerial fully to stop it being vandalized. When leaving the car parked in a narrow road, if you have spring-loaded wing mirrors tuck them in to avoid them being broken off by passing vehicles. Don’t park in a place where the car obstructs other vehicles. Park as close to your final destination as possible. Always try to park under a street lamp if the car is to be left unattended after dark. Be especially careful where you park a soft-top convertible.
Organized gangs target car parks with poor security, as do sex offenders seeking to prey on unaccompanied females. Whenever possible use attended and secure car parks.
Your car is as vulnerable at home as anywhere else and the same precautions (locking all doors, fastening windows, activating alarms, removing all valuables, etc) need to be carried out. More than half of all thefts from cars occur when the car is parked at or near the owner’s home, so don’t be complacent, be vigilant. If you don’t have a garage, park as close to your home as possible, preferably in a well-lit spot where you can see it.
If you have a garage, use it. Fit the best locks available to secure the garage door and keep it locked. If your car is stolen from an unlocked garage your insurance company may refuse to meet the claim in full. You’ll be protecting your home, too — garages often double as workshops and are full of valuable tools which can be used to gain entry to your house. Keep the car and garage keys in a secure place. Don’t leave them on display where anyone can see them; put them in an ornament or some other regular hiding place. If you don’t want to forget something which you must take with you the next day, leave the keys with this item. No way can you then go without it.
When you drive out of the garage, park on the drive and secure the garage door behind you. An open garage is an open invitation to the criminal element, signalling that there’s no one at home. Deny thieves this information.
Be suspicious if you find another car blocking your driveway. An old trick used by thieves is to park across a private entrance in the hope that the owner will leave his or her car unlocked while they go looking for the driver of the other vehicle.
Always reverse into the garage. It makes leaving easier, and in the event of a house fire the car can be removed faster (but if the fire has already reached the garage, stay well clear — DON’T risk your life to save a heap of metal on four wheels).
See Garage Hazards in Safety for guidelines on making your garage a safer place.
If you see someone tampering with your car, resist the impulse to challenge them. They may be armed, or there could be a lookout close by who will join in any attack on you. Call the police immediately and give them a description of the villain. Keep out of sight and don’t block the thieves’ escape route — it’s self-preservation, not cowardice. Damage to the car can be put right, but if you try playing the hero and get kicked to a pulp by the thieves the damage may be irreparable.
The same rules apply if you return to the car to find that the alarm has been activated. Be cautious; observe from a vantage point for a few minutes to make sure that the coast is clear before moving in. If the car has been broken into or vandalized, check what damage has been done before you get in and attempt to drive away. In the course of ripping out your radio or smashing their way in, the thieves may have damaged vital safety components or disconnected wires in the electrical system. The best course of action is to notify the police; they will tell you whether the car is safe and legal to drive.
Make a note of any items that have been stolen. The theft of credit cards, cheque books and cheque-guarantee cards should be reported immediately to the relevant banks and card companies so that a stop can be put on the cards’ use. In the event of your mobile telephone being taken, notify your air-time supplier so that the phone can be cut off before expensive calls are logged up. Ask them whether any calls have been made since you last used the phone — all calls are logged automatically, and the numbers dialled may provide the police with a clue to the thief’s identity.
If the keys to your house have been stolen you will need to get the locks changed as soon as possible. Inform the police immediately if there is any possibility that the thief could have found your address from anything left in the car. The neighbours are unlikely to suspect anything amiss if they see someone gaining entry to your house with a set of keys, so you should phone someone you can trust and get them to watch the house, or ask the police to send someone round.
Notify your insurance company of items stolen and any damage which has been done. Glass can often be replaced without affecting your no-claims bonus. Check the small print of your policy to see exactly what is covered and what view of the insurance company takes of your protecting the no-claims discount by failing to report a theft or accident. There have been cases of insurance companies declaring a policy invalid after discovering that the motorist concerned had failed to report a theft or act of vandalism.
The first thing to do is to make absolutely certain that you are looking in the right place. The police estimate that 10 per cent of cars reported stolen are false alarms — in reality the owner has simply forgotten where they parked the vehicle, or they have parked illegally and as a result their car has been towed away. So before you panic, check that you’ve got the right floor of the multi-storey, or the right side street, and that no parking restrictions were infringed by leaving the car where you did. If the car has been towed away there should be warning signs giving details of who to call to get your car back — upon payment of a hefty fine.
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