Many of us rely on our cars to get us from A to B everyday – so we can all imagine how much it would disrupt our lives if it were to be stolen. Unfortunately, vehicle theft is on the rise, with the Telegraph reporting that car theft rose by 30% between 2014 and 2016 and the Association of British Insurers reporting that theft increased a further 17% between 2016 and 2017.
There are many reasons why a car may be stolen, but the growth in vehicle theft has largely been attributed to growing technology. Thieves now have new technological devices at their disposal that allow them to break into cars without forcible entry, such as signal transmitters and blockers, while new car technology, like keyless entry, makes cars particularly susceptible to theft due to their vulnerability to hacking. While car owners have the option to install security devices into their cars, such as alarms and immobilisers, new advancements seem to be giving potential thieves a way around these – so what can be done to tackle growing vehicle theft?
While technology can be seen as part of our increasing theft problem, it may also be part of the solution. While car tech continues to grow, so does the security available for vehicles. One way in which the security of our cars can be improved is through the use of a theft tracker, which can help to find your car if it’s stolen. While you can currently purchase theft trackers and install them to your car, the growth of telematics may also provide a way of combating the crime by including theft tracking in their monitoring. Many telematics insurers already offer theft tracking as part of their policies – for example, at WiseDriving, our black box policy comes automatically with theft tracking. This means that, should you report your car as stolen, we can use your black box data to locate and recover it.
While these telematics devices may not stop initial theft, it can help to find stolen cars and reunite them with their owners. As telematics continues to grow - with many car manufacturers now placing monitoring technology into new cars as standard - more and more of us will own cars equipped with theft tracking. With increased tracking, there is even the potential to become a deterrent for car thieves, under the assumption that any car could be tracked. Time will only tell if telematics can help car theft to fall or how technology may help or hinder the crime – in the meantime, be sure to keep your car locked and secure.
