NCIB Cold Weather Vehicle Theft Prevention Tips
3 Feb 2015According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), letting your vehicle warm up is one of the worst things you can do in the winter.
Why? Because you are increasing your risk for vehicle theft by leaving your keys in the car.
People have the tendency to be more lackadaisical with their cars in the winter, as they heat up their cars prior to driving, without much thought about what they are risking. Unfortunately, criminals take advantage and thefts rise for this reason alone. While there is always a threat to a person’s vehicle if they leave it unattended, the risks are increased in cold weather due to some bad habits drivers tend to make.
One of the reasons of the increase in cold weather theft occurs when people leave their vehicles unlocked in the winter. When someone is going to the grocery store while it is snowing out, they want to be able to get into their car as quickly as possible with a cart of groceries. As a result, some people leave their car doors open so they are not fumbling for keys with frozen hands.
Unfortunately, this kind of thing happens all winter long, where vehicles are left unlocked for those few seconds of convenience. This also means criminals know about it and will target vehicles they think have been left unlocked.
Another problem in the cold weather season is that vehicle owners tend to heat up their cars before getting inside. While this can be convenient and save them from several minutes of freezing inside their vehicle, they most likely have to leave their car running with the keys inside in order to do so. Anyone can walk up to the car, open the door and take off since the keys are already inside. Due to the winter, this person has just made it incredibly easy for someone to steal their car.
The same can be said when someone is just running a quick errand and won’t be in the post office or bank more than a couple minutes. They leave their car running with the heat on, assuming they will return shortly to a warm car. Many times, their car is nowhere to be found.
The NCIB urges vehicle owners to avoid doing this whenever possible. Aside from that, people are urged to not leave their keys in their car with it running, just for a few seconds or minutes of extra warmth.
For more information on NCIB list of cold weather tips to help prevent vehicle theft, read its press release.
To further protect you from being a victim of vehicle theft in the cold weather season, having a GPS tracker in your car to help you locate it.
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