Airbag Thefts Rise in Honda Vehicles
1 May 2019Airbag Thefts Rise in Honda Vehicles
Airbag theft is a crime that is rising in frequency with more than 50,000 vehicle airbags stolen each year. While no late model car that has airbags is entirely safe, late-model Honda Civics and Accords are highly targeted as various Acura models, according to the Car Buzz website which goes on to report that many of these stolen airbags are being sold on the black market as well as to some shady repair shops.
How Big is the Problem?
Since the National Safety Council began teaching courses on driver safety in 1964, it’s been the top leader in road safety. And, their goal is to get to zero fatalities by addressing the causes of crashes and how drivers, vehicles, technology and road systems play a role in creating safer roads. They encourage everyone to take life-saving measures and learn about traffic death trends.
Over 90 percent of crashes were due to human error, according to the National Safety Council.
Most of the errors drivers commonly make are:
- Choosing incorrect defensive driving actions.
- Detecting road hazards too slowly or missing them altogether.
- Driving in an altered or distracted state (i.e. being distracted by a phone, inadequate sleep, driving under the influence).
The high resale value of heavy equipment makes it an attractive target for thieves looking for a relatively low risk, high reward transaction. The sheer fact that heavy equipment retails for anywhere from $40,000 to $130,000 and in fairly high demand offers the promise of quick cash to those who do the stealing.
There are other things, though, that drive theft of heavy equipment, including the surprising ease of the thefts and the abundant opportunities for stealing heavy equipment. This can be especially the case during certain times of year, such as the months of December and January when many businesses that use heavy equipment experience lower volumes of work leaving these items largely unattended.
The other reason heavy equipment theft is so widespread is the fact that it is notoriously difficult to distinguish. Unlike cars and trucks that come with documentation along with unique VINs (vehicle identification numbers), many heavy equipment manufacturers do not have the same ease of identification.
