Motor Vehicle Theft - Prevention

Prevention

There are various methods of prevention to reduce the likelihood of a vehicle getting stolen. These include physical barriers, which make the effort of stealing the vehicle more difficult. Some of these include:

• Devices used to lock a part of the vehicle necessary in its operation, such as the wheel, steering wheel or brake pedal. A popular steering wheel lock is The Club.
• Immobilisers, allowing the vehicle to start only if a key containing the correct chip is present in the ignition. These work by locking the steering wheel and disabling the ignition.

Chances of theft can also be reduced with various deterrents, which give the impression to the thief that s/he is more likely to get caught if the vehicle is stolen. These include:

• Car alarm systems that are triggered if a breaking and entry into the vehicle occurs
• Microdot identification tags which allow individual parts of a vehicle to be identified
• Killswitch circuits are designed to frustrate or slow down the efforts of a determined car thief. Killswitches are often located between crucial parts of the starting system, between the battery source and the coil, or the fuel pump. A car cannot start without first flipping these killswitches to closed position. Savvy car owners hide these killswitches in obscured areas, under the dashboard, beneath the seat, behind a chair, etc.
• Signage on windows warning of the presence of other deterrents, sometimes in absence of the actual deterrents.
• VIN etching