This is how to protect yourself against vehicle crime and stay safe on the roads

Vehicle theft has become one of the most prevalent crimes in South Africa. Anyone can be a victim of vehicle crime.

According to Arrive Alive, vehicle crime includes the theft of your car and related criminal activities that affect you as a motorist, such as a cable theft that leaves traffic lights dead or the theft of crash barriers and manhole covers that pose a major risk to you on the road.

People no longer feel safe with certains cars and others avoid buying certain cars because they are afraid of the potential hijack or theft risk.

Arrive Alive has outlined tips on how you can protect yourself from vehicle crime.

Crime is indiscriminate

While some cars appear to be more of a theft or hijacking risk, it is clear that crime affects all motorists. According to the South African Police Service, 53 307 cars and motorcycles were stolen in the April 2016 to March 2017 period. While this is much lower than 10 years ago, it still means that almost 150 cars and bikes are stolen every day in South Africa.

While you could argue that some cars are being targeted by criminals, you should consider that many of these ‘at risk’ cars are victims of their own popularity. For instance: If you sell 1 000 units of a specific car every month, and 10 per cent are stolen, then the police will see 100 cases of this car being stolen every month and they will call it a high-risk vehicle

While the debate on high-risk and low-risk cars will continue, the theft of goods from your vehicle is certainly not restricted to high-risk vehicles. Know your car’s security systems. Since vehicle crime affects all of us, it is important to understand which security systems you have in your car and how they can protect you.

Car alarm

The first important system is the car alarm. Most alarms are linked to the car doors and the alarm will sound if the vehicle is locked and someone opens a door. The car doors will normally include the boot and bonnet as ‘doors’, but it is important that you ask the local dealer about this.

Car alarms are rated in two ways. Aftermarket systems, which you fit at a dealer or alarm specialist, will normally have a VESA rating. VESA is the Motor Vehicle Safety Association of South Africa, which grades alarms and other vehicle safety systems based on their complexity and efficiency. You should speak to your insurer about the VESA level that is required for aftermarket alarm systems.

If the system was fitted to a new car by the manufacturer, then it will be rated by the SA Independent Accreditation Services (SAIAS) on its Vehicle Security Systems (VSS) scale. Each manufacturer submits the details of its vehicles’ security systems to SAIAS and this rating is available to the vehicle manufacturers, insurers and the police.

You may also be able to get your vehicle’s VSS rating from the insurer, and the insurer will be able to tell you if the vehicle is secure enough according to the industry standard for that type of vehicle

Motion sensors

A motion sensor is normally linked to the car alarm and will trigger the alarm if it senses any movement inside a locked car. This is helpful in cases where someone breaks a window to steal something from a parked car but does not open the door to trigger the alarm.
Not all cars are fitted with a motion sensor and it is usually only fitted to more expensive vehicles or the more expensive models of a range of vehicles. This is very important because even though you may read that a specific model undergoing a road test has a motion sensor or you see it in a similar car to yours, you should still ask the dealer if your model has that sensor fitted.

Safety film

Safety film (also called smash-and-grab protection) is a thin, durable and translucent film that is fitted on to your side windows to make them less likely to break in the case of a smash-and-grab attack or when someone tries to break the window of your parked car to steal something. This film is most often fitted as an optional extra but considering how often smash-and-grab incidents happen it is a good idea to fit this film into your car.

Vehicle tracking systems
Most vehicle tracking systems will only engage if the vehicle is moving and presumed stolen. Some may have a level of complexity that shows if the alarm is sounding or it may even detect attempted theft. If you fit a tracking system, make sure to speak to your insurer about its preferred system and what level of protection is required for your type of car. It is also a good idea to ask for a discount on your insurance premium if you have a tracking system fitted.

Other safety equipment

Your vehicle should be fitted with the most basic security systems. These include microdot VIN-information, which is now required by law on all new cars, door locks (sometimes double locks) and a steering lock.
The latter locks your steering wheel and prevents it from turning. You can engage this lock by removing the key and moving your parked car’s steering sideways until you hear it lock. To unlock, you will insert and turn the key and wiggle the steering wheel to unlock it.
Microdots, or datasets, are microscopic dots with your vehicle information number (VIN) embedded. It is sprayed in many hard-to-reach places across your car and it allows the police to identify stolen vehicles quickly with the help of a special lamp.

Being vigilant is the best protection

If you spend any time on the Internet or social media chat rooms, you will find people complaining that their cars have been stolen and that it was ‘too easy’ for the criminals to get away with his or her car. They will blame the manufacturer for making security systems that do not work or for leaving loopholes for the criminals to exploit.

While some cars are certainly more secure than others, all the modern vehicle manufacturers have to comply with national and international standards and with the VSS rating system. This means that their cars are secure and safe, but it certainly does not mean that their cars cannot be stolen.

Most of the local vehicle manufacturers, notably Toyota, Volkswagen, Nissan, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Isuzu, have local teams that can study crime patterns and which will make updates to security systems if they see that criminals are exploiting a security weakness. With this in mind, you should take the responsibility of securing your vehicle and the goods inside it.

For instance, do not park in a dark area where there are limited traffic and no lights. While you may have an alarm and even a motion sensor, criminals have been found to break open body panels to cut battery power or alarm wires and it is very difficult for any manufacturer to fully protect a car against a committed criminal with a crowbar and no concern for the damage he causes.

Lastly, consider beefing up your car security. This is very important if your insurance provider indicates that you do not meet the security standards. But even if you meet the basic standards, it may be prudent to add a motion sensor, smash-and-grab film or a signal scanner protector to your list of vehicle security systems. If you do fit additional equipment, make sure to check with your vehicle manufacturer if the additional equipment affects your vehicle warranty in any way.

Related article: 

https://sandtonchronicle.co.za/189396/cars-now-easier-to-steal/

https://sandtonchronicle.co.za/107297/motorists-lose-car-batteries-to-theft/