Steering lock sales double as motorists turn to old fashioned preventative measures to beat the thieves
We all remember the good old fashioned steering lock used to try and prevent car thieves from stealing your vehicle and it seems they’re making a comeback!
Steering lock sales have doubled as motorists turn to old fashioned preventative measures to beat the thieves.
One leading manufacturer of steering locks in the UK called Disclok have reported that sales of their device have more than doubled over the past year.
Over the last four years it’s been reported that the number of cars stolen has increased by 30%. This year alone 85,688 cars have been reported stolen compared to 65,783 in 2013 – this data was collected by the RAC.
The director of RAC Insurance, Mark Godfrey, believes that steering wheel locks are making a comeback during a time when car thieves are managing to beat anti-theft systems by using smart new technology such as locking jammers and relay boxes.
Steering lock sales double as motorists turn to old fashioned preventative measures to beat the thieves © Copyright Dave Pickersgill and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
The steering wheel lock acts as an excellent visible deterrent and for that reason many car owners are now turning to the device to help prevent their cars from being stolen.
Locking jammers used by car thieves block the signal sent to a car by its keys when the owner of the vehicle is locking it up. Many car owners park up and then walk away from their vehicle locking it as they go and this is when such a device could intercept the locking process.
The best advice is to stay with your car whilst you lock it and then check the doors before you walk away to make sure it is locked.
The relay box is another device used by criminals to steal cars. The gadget looks for a signal from a car key sat inside someone’s home and transmits the signal to a second box held next to the targeted car. This type of crime usually involves two criminals working together. Once the car’s locking system has been tricked into thinking the key is being used to unlock it, the thieves can simply jump into the vehicle and drive off.
Because these type of thefts are becoming increasingly widespread across the country, many drivers have been urged to take extra precautions such as storing their keys in a metal tin or in the microwave to prevent the signals from being intercepted.
In September, two criminals were caught on CCTV in Birmingham using a relay box to steal a Mercedes off the drive of the owner. The thieves managed to complete the whole theft in just one minute.
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