Beating car thieves

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32640, 23 June 1971, Page 13

Beating car thieves

Having driven your new car carefully away from the showroom and arrived safely at your destination, you will step out of it satisfied that you have made your first trip in safety, and that it is yours, gleaming, and unmarked. But you must do more than just drive it carefully and clean and maintain it regularly to keep it that way. In one recent month alone, 362 vehicles were converted in New Zealand —and this did not include motor-cycles and powercycles. On average, about 13 vehicles a day are converted throughout New Zealand, and as often as not they are recovered in a damaged condition. With more than one million licensed motor vehicles in New Zealand, the odds are weighted against your car being stolen, smashed up or even “got at” by the aerial-snapping brigade. Even so, there is no reason why you should not take the necessary steps to lengthen the odds, so that your property is as secure as you can reasonably make it. Before referring to some of the safety devices designed to combat car. convertors, mention must be made of the simplest, cheapest and most effective deterrent of all—the car Fn the United States, surveys have established that approximately 60 per cent of all motor vehicles stolen had been left with the keys in the ignition switch or the ignition switch left in an unlocked or open position. The number Who leave their car doors unlocked or ;their car windows open would be even higher. Of the 362 vehicles that were stolen in February this year, 154 or 43 per cent, had net been property they were stolen. Of this 154, 121 not only offered ready access to a convertor but also had the:

ignition keys left inside the vehicles. The most, important anti theft rule of all if you are leaving your car unattended is to make sure that the ignition is switched off, the windows closed and the cai itself properly locked. There are on the market mechanical aids which an specially designed to thwari the would-be car thief. Many of these an designed on the principle that the one thing a thief does not want is to attract attention. The automatic auto-alarm which when set and the car door is tried, triggers off a siren at 15 second intervals, and flashes the tail and parking lights. There is also an antiburglar alarm to be kept inside the car which, after it has been set, will go off if someone ventures within three feet of it. Then there is a system developed in Australia and available in New Zealand which is aimed at car thieves who change the registration plates of stolen cars to escape detection. The system consists of sand-blasting the registration number on the windscreen and each window of the vehicle. This enables the police to recognise a stolen vehicle even if it does have false number plates on it The only way for thieves to have the figures on the glass removed is to have new windows installed throughout the car—an expensive and troublesome exercise. Another principle behind many car anti-theft devices is incorporated in mechanisms which lock the car’s steering so that the wheels cannot be turned. Some new care now have this as a standard fitting. A device that is very popular in Australia is a steel rod which folds into three parts. Before a motorist leaves his car, he secures one end of the rod Over the clutch or brake pedaL the other on to the steering column and a for a car convertor to drive thevehicle.

' This, of course, will not prevent thieves who have ' gained entry into a vehicle ! from helping themselves to . the loose items in the car. ! These can include such 1 attractive items as transis- ' tor radios, binoculars, brief cases, parcels, even wallets and money. Such items should be put well out of the sight of potential car thieves who if they cannot see anything of value through the windows may decide the “loot" does not warrant the risk. These are a few of the precautions you can take to outwit the car convertor when leaving your car unattended on the street or in a parking lot However, in your anxiety to ensure that you can drive home again in your own car, do not overlook the precautions necessary to safeguard it once you are home. Most car thefts happen at night so a large proportion of stolen cars are taken from right outside their owners’ homes. Be sure your car is protected at home as well as when you are out—park it where there is good street lighting or if you have a garage ensure that not only the garage but also the car itself is securely locked. There is no such thing as complete immunity to theft and certainly a motor vehicle by its very nature and purpose is particularly vulnerable. By taking sensible precautions, however, you certainly reduce the likelihood of your car becoming the target for some of. our many car convertors. New company Two British companies, Smiths Industries and Kangol Magnet, have formed a joint company to design and develop "passive” car-occupant restraint systems and seat-belts with automatic warning devices. The passive systems will be designed to fasten seat-belts automatically without effort on the part of drivers or passengers.