Vehicle
SecurityOur vehicle usually is our second-largest investment, so first follow the obvious strategies: Don’t leave keys in the ignition, lock the doors, park in a safe location and don’t leave valuables in a truck. Recently, a newspaper item noted a woman’s car was stolen when she left it running for about 60 seconds while she ran into a 7-11 store. DUH! Most stolen cars are sold to chop shops, which dismantle them and sell the parts at a great markup. One way to prevent that is to engrave your VIN on various parts. Don’t ever leave your cell phone in the car. That is a certain “to be stolen” item! Never leave your driver’s license or registration in your car. Put them in your wallet! If the car is driven by several people, and this is not convenient, hide the registration in your trunk.
Most cars come with alarms today, so use them. I am quite fond of the alarm on my Hyundai. You all have seen remote-control door lock/unlock systems—most cars have them today. So does mine. But unlike most cars, all mine does when I lock the car is flash the lights. There is no sound. This could easily lull an unsuspecting thief who might be watching me to think there is no alarm. But as soon as you try to enter the locked car, the most godawful shrieking siren goes off. I tried it once. You cannot unlock the trunk with the key if the car alarm is set. The alarm is earth-shattering, and also comes through on your key fob. Hyundai knows what they’re doing.
Other good deterrents include “The Club,” which you have all seen. They can be defeated, but it takes so long no thief is going to try. Another very good system that I had installed in several of my older cars is a kill switch. Once you park and lock the car, a hidden switch can be thrown that will prevent the car from being stolen. Basically, it shuts off the gas supply. It just requires a mechanic who is very creative so that the switch is not obvious. On one car, I had the switch inside the ashtray. Two other good systems, though a bit more expensive, are Lojack—which can track any stolen vehicle—and OnStar, provided by GM. They not only can help you get inside your car if you lock yourself out, give you directions when your lost, but also can track your vehicle if it’s stolen. OnStar is worth the cost, approximately $200/year.
When approaching your car, make certain there’s no one around or in it. Once you are in the car, lock the doors, fasten your seatbelt and start the car. If your car won’t start, and it’s late at night in an unsafe location, get out of the car, lock it and return to the place you just left. It’s quite possible someone might have disabled your vehicle in an attempt to rob you when the car wouldn’t start. When you are driving home at night, if you think you’re being followed (perhaps someone saw you handling large amounts of cash), drive to the nearest police station and make a lot of noise!
If you have a problem on the highway, pull off to the side completely off the roadway, get the passengers out of the car and away from the road and signal or call for assistance. If you can repair the problem, do so, but stay away from road traffic. Also be wary of towing companies you don’t know, which might be inclined to greatly overcharge you. Many automakers now provide you with an 800 number to call for assistance. Hyundai does that, and you simply report your location and the problem and they will find the nearest “repair” location and send someone qualified to help you. GM with its OnStar program does the same thing. Otherwise you must rely on your insurance company plan, if you have roadside assistance, or you are on your own.
In a different segment, we will discuss carjacking—which is serious enough to warrant its own discussion!
Drive Carefully!
