According to Nationwide Insurance, it takes less than a minute for a thief to break your car window and steal the stuff that you stowed in your car. All those Christmas presents that were in your car could disappear while you were shopping another store. Nationwide has some tips on how to avoid car break-ins.
This is the time of year when people spend a lot of money on Christmas gifts for friends and family. Unfortunately, thieves are aware of this. Often, a person will stuff their filled Christmas shopping bags into their car, drive to the next store, and get out to do more shopping. Right now, your car full of presents looks like a treasure chest to a thief.
Nationwide Insurance has some excellent, common sense, tips that you can use in order to decrease the risk of your car being the one that a thief decides to break into. Following these suggestions could be the difference between a Merry Christmas and a car insurance claim.
Stay Visible
Pick a parking space in a crowded, busy, parking lot that has people constantly walking and driving through it. If it is dark outside, choose a well-lit area to park your vehicle in. Thieves are looking for cars parked in dark areas, far away from everyone else, because they have a better chance of breaking into someone’s car and getting away with it that way.
Be Smart
Lock your doors. Roll up your windows. Check to make sure your doors are locked before you walk away from the car. Nationwide Insurance says that almost one-fourth of thefts from vehicles are from unlocked cars. Don’t leave your keys in the car, or hide them under the bumper. Take them with you. Don’t make it easy for a thief to break-in to your vehicle.
Hide the Presents
Don’t leave bags that are stuffed full of Christmas gifts in the back seat of your car. Anyone walking past can easily see that you have some valuables in your vehicle! Instead, put all the bags into the trunk where no one can see them.
Do this immediately after you leave the store, and then drive away. When you arrive in the parking lot of the next store, it will appear as though you haven’t done any Christmas shopping at all. This makes your car less tempting to the thieves who may be watching for cars with full trunks.
Image by Brian Drew on Flickr