Simple steps to avoid car theft

Every year, tens of thousands of vehicles are stolen. This article is about how to prevent your car from being one of them by following a few simple rules. If you keep them in mind, you can have a long, happy relationship with your automobile--a least until it starts needing cash for car replacement parts!

Firstly, and most obviously, always lock your doors. It is a single, simple act of pushing down a button or turning a key, but this precaution is the number one thing you can do. Car criminals are generally indiscriminate. Either they want your car because it is especially fancy, or, much more likely, they just want it because it's an easy target. A common scene would have a criminal scoping out a street, looking for cracked doors, raised internal locks, or rolled down windows. Criminals are lazy, and by leaving your door unlocked, you're welcoming them to your vehicle by putting it at the top of their list.

Secondly, as alluded to above, roll up your windows completely. A cracked window makes an easy entry point for a criminal with a simple wire hook or enough physical strength to push it down further. If you have a car alarm, set it. Locked doors are a good deterrent, but a flashing red 'armed' light is even better. Also, if a car with an alarm is broken into, the blaring lights and horns might be enough to make the criminal think again.

Another issue to consider is not leaving keys in the car. This sounds obvious, but many people will casually or forgetfully toss their keys into the vehicle. Or maybe you have a 'spare' key you keep in the center console, on the pull down mirror, or under the car mat. Think car thieves won't look there? Think again. Keep spares on you if possible, and very well hidden if not. An ideal location would be nowhere near the driver's seat, or even better, in a locked key compartment that only you have the combination to.

Finally, know where you're driving and parking. Prefer well lit, highly trafficked areas, and avoid very late parts of the night when there is less surveillance. High crime areas are high theft areas, so keep an eye out for parts of town that are generally problematic.

A parting thought: don't make your car a target. Blinged-out wheels and flashy car stereos, cash in the cup holder, and valuables visible from the windows all attract attention. Keep your car focused on driving, follow basic vigilance, and hide anything worth stealing from view--and you should have your ride for a very long time.