A car is stolen in the United States about once every 26 seconds. Sounds outrageous doesn’t it, and very hard to believe. The FBI reported that in 2006, nearly 400 people out of every hundred thousand had their car stolen.

The total stolen cars in 2006 in the United States alone were 1,192,809 motor vehicles. This keeps your insurance rates higher, and of course, if you’re one of the unlucky ones, then you are walking on top of the other things it does for you.

The highest areas for auto theft are in the west, while the lowest were in the Midwest. The very upsetting aspect of all of this is that only twelve percent of the people who steal a car are ever caught and less than ten percent of cars stolen are recovered.

What that says to us is that we need to get a lot smarter about where we park, how we secure our car, and in taking steps to prevent the theft so far as we can.

Of course car alarms and steering wheel locks are wonderful detriments, but what else can we do to keep our vehicle safe? Are there any regular means, aside from those two things that will help to assure the safety of our cars?

While nothing can guarantee that you’re not going to get your car stolen, again, some common sense things kick in here that will go a long way toward preventing it.

Some of the best ways to help prevent your vehicle from being stolen are:
- Lock your car!
- Park in areas of the parking lot that are well lit. If you know the placement of the cameras which are in most parking lots, park nearer to the area.
- Park your car off the street at night. Use a garage if you have one, if not, then at least park in a driveway if you have the option. If you don’t, investing in a rudimentary alarm is just good sense.
- Don’t leave objects of obvious value in plain sight in your car. It goes without saying that your brand new laptop is a direct invitation to a dishonest person.
- Make copies of your registration and the car title. Keep those in the car, rather than your originals.
- For heaven’s sakes don’t tape a key under the hood, tie it on the mirror; magnetically attach it to the inside of your hood or other such invitations to steal your car. If you can’t seem to refrain from locking yourself out, carry it in your sock if you have to but don’t leave it in your car.