With almost 40,000 cases related to vehicles occurring each month in the UK, it’s more important than ever to ensure your car is safe at all times. Whether you use your car for the school and shopping runs, or you’re regularly driving up and down motorways as part of your work, having a car that’s safe and secure can potentially save you thousands. Statistics show that for every 10,000 cars on the road, 70 will have items stolen from them and 28 cars are stolen altogether. On top of that, 68 cars out of every 10,000 will fall victim to some kind of criminal damage. To ensure your car isn’t one of the unlucky few, we’ve put together some safety tips for your consideration.
Think about your parking space
If you’re away from home, or you don’t have a driveway, it’s likely that you’ll have to park your car on the road overnight. Depending on the area where you live, you may find that even shifting your car a few feet along the road could be the difference between your car being safe and sound all evening long and it being robbed. A study conducted by a car tracker manufacturer found that London, Essex and the West Midlands are the areas in the UK where your car is most likely to be stolen, so if you live in any of those areas, you’ll need to be especially choosy about where you park your car. If possible, park the car where it will be illuminated by a streetlight, and if there’s no parking outside your home, try to find a space for your car where it can be seen by plenty of onlookers. Thieves are far less likely to try and steal a car from a well lit and populated area.
Keep it neat
If your car is filled with jackets along with other items such as bags and beach towels, it can appear as if they are covering up valuable items, and for an opportunist thief, the temptation to break into your car to find out may be too much. If, on the other hand, all the thief is able to see is clean upholstery or leather, they are far less likely to become curious about what may be inside. So, if possible, always try and keep your car’s interior as clean as possible.
Hide your belongings before you reach your destination
If removing your belongings from your car altogether is impossible, then make sure you pack them out of sight in the boot. If you are planning on moving valuables to the boot however, make sure you do it well in advance of reaching your destination. If you park up in a busy area and transport your items to the boot in view of everyone, all you are doing is broadcasting the fact you have valuables in your car to potential thieves. As an alternative, move the items to the boot before setting of, or pull over to a safe location during the journey and move them then.
Fit a tracker
Nobody should have to deal with their car being stolen, but if the worst should happen, you’ll be in a much better position to recover your vehicle if you have a tracker fitted. Fitting a tracker is quick and easy, and once you’ve done it, you’ll be able to track exactly where your vehicle is at any time via an app or your computer. To ensure you get the right tracker for your needs, make sure you purchase one from the range available at Trackershop. Only then will you be sure that you’ll get the most cost-effective and accurate trackers that will be able to locate your vehicle should it get stolen.
