How to Keep Your Car and its loads Safe?

"Better to be safe than Sorry" probably also coined the phrase "You can never be too careful." That said, keep your doors locked at all times — as soon as you get in the car, while you're driving and after you park. Whether you're parked in a garage or driving through a seedy neighborhood, locking your doors is the first step to car safety.

Keeping car into safety should not be taken fro granted. Many things should be keep to consider. If you have to park in a deserted area, have a friend walk you to your car. Always lock your doors.

A wise person (who surely spent more than $1,000 a year on textbooks) once said, "It's better to be safe than sorry." When it comes to bringing you car to campus, truer words were never spoken.

The following advice might seem like common sense, but as a college-educated young adult, you probably know what they say happens to common sense as intelligence increases.

Keep Track of Your Stereo -Often, thieves don't want your car so they can make a beer run; they target a car for its parts or what's inside it. One common target is aftermarket stereo equipment. If you've installed a killer sound system in your car, write down the equipment's serial number so that if it's stolen and recovered it can be returned to you. Some systems come with a removable faceplate that you can take with you when you park your car — much like cyclists who remove their bicycle seat to prevent theft. 

It's always a good idea to park in well-lit areas that have lots of foot traffic. You may also want to bring a friend when walking to your car late at night.  Don't leave valuables out in the open. Leaving your iPod in plain view on the car seat is like taping a "steal me" sign to it. If you must leave your valuables in your car, conceal them in the glove compartment, center console or trunk.  No one wants to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with an empty gas tank or a dead battery. 

Try to keep your gas tank at least a quarter full. Get routine oil changes and maintenance checks when you go home, or find a trusty mechanic near campus. It's also smart to join an organization such as AAA, which can help you in the event of a breakdown. Also check if your insurance company offers roadside assistance.

Check Out Your Surroundings - When deciding to bring your car to school, it's a good idea to consider the neighborhood you'll be driving in. Your campus may be beautiful and well-lit, but remember to check out the surrounding area. Does it have a high crime rate? Are you driving a high-theft car? If you're concerned, you may want to invest in an anti-theft device.
By Renee Krejci, Cars.com

What is your car best security feature?

Nine-out-of-ten cars are hot-wired and driven away. Mechanical devices such as steering wheel bars and pedal locks are only a minor inconvenience for the professional. Although they may work as a deterrent, car alarms can be "hot wired" around. The professional thief simply cuts or jumps the alarm wires and he is gone. Tracking devices used by police to locate stolen cars do not STOP the vehicle from being hot-wired and driven away. They depend on early notification of authorities by the owner. A car that is taken at 2 a.m. can be dismantled miles away before the owner even realizes it is gone.

A vehicle is stolen every 20 seconds... 9 out of 10 are hot-wired.

No security system can stop a thief from hot-wiring your vehicle and driving away...

EXCEPT

the only vehicle security system that is 100% effective against hot-wiring!

No security system can stop a thief from hot-wiring your vehicle and driving away except Power Lock®

WHY CHOOSE POWER LOCK? Power Lock is the only system guaranteed to prevent your car, truck or van from being hot-wired and driven away! It is simple and easy-to-use - yet 100% foolproof.

This is a totally unique "sealed" electronic system, impossible to circumvent. The system is continually armed by creating an open ignition circuit that disables the starting circuitry at the starter.

WHAT KIND OF VEHICLES ARE STOLEN? Some models are more popular than others, but any vehicle is a target for car thieves. A dismantled vehicle is worth two to four times its showroom value in parts.

News theft cases:"I have watched suspects steal a Mercedes that had an alarm system in less than a minute. We have had suspects dismantle tracking devices on cars as they are driving down the freeway."
Los Angeles Police Department - Detective Gary Sims (retired), as quoted in the Los Angeles Times, September 10, 1998
"Or they (vehicle owners) can go all out and buy the GPS security systems like LoJack or OnStar. The problem, Moraga said, is that thieves have started stealing those as well."
Peter Moraga, Spokesman for the Insurance Information Service of California, as quoted in the Orange County Register, March 12, 2003
Kim Hazelbaker said the Escalade's anti-theft system has not been certified by one industry body, the Insurance Bureau of Canada, because thieves have found a way to defeat it.
Kim Hazelbaker, Senior Vice President, Highway Loss Data Institute, as quoted by CNN/Money, October 19, 2004
Researchers said Saturday they have found a way to crack the code used in millions of car keys, a development they said could allow thieves to bypass the security systems on newer car models. The research team at Johns Hopkins University said it discovered that the "immobilizer" security system developed by Texas Instruments could be cracked using a "relatively inexpensive electronic device" that acquires information hidden in the microchips that make the system work.
The radio-frequency security system being used in more than 150 million new Fords, Toyotas and Nissans involves a transponder chip embedded in the key and a reader inside the car. "We stole our own car," said Avi Rubin, who led the research team.
Excerpts from an article published in the Detroit News, Sunday, January 30, 2005
They preyed on large swaths of Koreatown, Mid-Wilshire and Jefferson Park, sometimes making off with two cars a night. Their secret? Los Angeles Police Det. Frank Carrillo said they used "shaved keys" plain car keys, which can be bought at a hardware store or junkyard, that are filed down to pick door and ignition locks. "If you shave the girth of a key, most often it will unlock a car," said Carrillo.

The LAPD in the past has dealt with highly organized groups that systematically stole expensive cars and took them to "chop shops" to be disassembled and their parts resold. But this case, despite the high numbers of thefts, was low-tech, authorities said. "Shaved keys are particularly effective on Toyotas and Hondas, which made up nearly half of all cars stolen in the Wilshire area in 2005," said Carrillo.
Excerpts from an article published in the Los Angeles Times, January 28, 2006

 "The Integra has been in the top 10 of the insurance group's "hot cars" list for five straight years, even after Honda started adding a passive anti-theft device as standard equipment in the 2000 model year. Car thieves learn to break systems almost as quickly as manufacturers can churn them out. On Acuras, as on vehicles of other brands, immobilizers are thought to be more effective in deterring amateur thieves than [deterring] the professionals."

Kim Hazelbaker, Senior Vice President, Highway Loss Data Institute, as quoted in the Los Angeles Times, May 22, 2002