I saw a television program recently on the national network here in
Canuckistan which maybe reflects the car theft scene in the USA. I learned
a few surprising things. One is that more autos than I would have expected
are stolen by using the keys - I don't remember the exact percentage but I
think it was in the range of 30-40%. A reduction in everyone's insurance
rates from lowering this percentage would be significant. This is not meant
as a shot at Bill, who strikes me as one of the nice guys in this NG, but
such a high percentage tells me that too many car owners do not take as much
care of their keys as they might. In the cases of expensive cars, Mercedes,
BMW's, etc., which typically come equipped with state-of-the-art anti-theft
systems, the thieves actually break into houses to steal the keys which some
owners keep easy to find places. It is apparently easier to break into a
house than into the car and of course it causes no damage to the desired
asset. It seems that no current anti-theft system will stop a big league
pro, such as those targetting specific models for chop shops or for export,
if he really wants it badly enough. Minor leaguers and semi-pros such as
drug addicts, bank robbers needing getaway cars, etc., will look for easy
game, earlier Honda Accords and some current Fords are evidently the easiest
to steal. Honda Accords are especially popular because they are the vehicle
of choice for performance tuning by young people in their late teens and
20's. Drug addicts and others just needing money, always check the cabin
first to see if there is anything valuable that is obviously or badly
hidden. A coat covering something is actually a magnet; it makes the thief
wonder what the owner is trying to hide, and he will often break in to find
out. These guys will usually walk away if there is a flashing light on the
dash from an anti-theft system. Cars that won't start without a coded key
apparently are also a worthwhile deterrent as are such obvious things like
selecting well-lighted, easily visible parking places and avoiding high risk
neighbourhoods. It seems that competent thieves can steal most locked cars
in under 1 minute and this was demonstrated in the program by a former thief
using a wide variety of makes and models.



Best regards,



Yuji Sakuma