Keeping Yourself from Being a Victim of Winter Car Theft

Recently, and as seems to be a yearly event, several cities have been experiencing a influx in the number of vehicle burglaries.  Most often, this is a result of persons who start their automobiles and then let it "warm up" while they leave it unattended, and as a vast majority of criminals are generally opportunists, they see these as easy targets.  After all... the vehicle typically has the keys in the ignition, and many people on the rush fail to lock the doors while the car warms up.  While we understand the desire for the comfort of stepping into a nice warm car before venturing off to your job, there are many things which you should do in order to lessen the chance of becoming another statistic of auto theft.  First and foremost is that if you do, in fact, decide to start your automobile and allow it to run unattended, locking the doors is an obvious, yet often ignored, necessity.  However, this can still be looked at as an easy target, with so many criminals utilizing easily acquired tools (such as the "slim-jim") that allow them to enter your running car in a matter of seconds and simply driving away.  A better solution, should you still desire to have your automobile running while you finish preparing for your day in your house, is to purchase a vehicle alarm systems which also allows you to remotely start your vehicle.  These systems do not require a key to be in the ignition, and (if you purchase the proper type) will not allow your vehicle to be placed into gear without disarming the alarm system and/or placing the key into the ignition.  This option, although safer than simply starting your vehicle and locking it, can still be considered a target by a potential thief who fails to look into the vehicle first to see if there is, in fact, a key in the ignition, and leads us to the truly safest advice.  Several years ago, it may have been necessary to start up your vehicle and let it run for ten minutes or more in order for it to be warm enough to drive safely.  Today, however, automobiles are made to warm up quickly, and typically without the need to start your car ahead of time.  Yes, it may be slightly more uncomfortable to wait that three or four minutes while driving down the road in your cold automobile, but rather than having no automobile in which to drive down the road uncomfortably for three or four minutes at all, this option is truly the safest and wisest choice to protect your ride.

Don't become another statistic of one more vehicle stolen every 26 seconds in the United States.  Instead, get out your window scraper, brush off the windshield of your car, and try not to think about that few minutes of cold temperature inside your vehicle before it nice and toasty warm!