Theft of Cars With Keys in Them on the Rise
It turns out, folks are increasingly making it easier for their cars to be stolen.
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), car theft that occurs as a result of the keys being in the car is increasing, even though overall car theft is decreasing. In 2012, about 39,345 cars with the keys in them were stolen, while in 2014, that number rose to 44,828 vehicles.
NICB says that if those 44,828 thefts in 2014 were removed from the total number of car thefts (about 659,717), it would bring the total down to levels that haven’t been seen since 1966.
“Am I shocked by these numbers? Not one bit. In fact, I’m sure the numbers are probably higher, because we are only able to determine the thefts where the car was recovered with the keys inside, or where someone admitted they left the keys in the car or the ignition,”said NICB President and CEO Joe Wehrle. “Many times that is not admitted in the police report or the insurance claim.”
The top five worst states for these easy car thefts in 2014 were California (19,597), Texas (8,796), Florida (7,868), Michigan (7,726), and Ohio (7,452).
Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>
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it's true; leaving the keys in the ignition overnight is more common than you might think
Please expedite the standardization of key less entry and push button ignition into all cars. Problem solved.