Car Thieves On the Lookout for Cars Warming Up

Frosted windowpanes, car keys gleaming inside…

If you warm up your car on cold winter days, you might want to think twice. AAA Insurance is warning drivers not to leave their cars running with the keys in it, as they’ve become targets for car thieves.

“As it gets colder outside, a warmer car is definitely more inviting, but it’s more inviting to thieves as well” said AAA spokesperson Amy Parmenter in a Dec. 2 email to Patch.

In West Hartford recently, at least 15 vehicle break-ins were reported in one night. One car was stolen while it was warming up in the driveway.

From 2012 to 2014, more than 125,000 cars were stolen after drivers left keys in them and according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, that number has been increasing each year. Almost 45,000 cars with keys in them were stolen in 2014.

But it doesn’t have to be this way, Parmenter said.

“With today’s anti-theft technology, stealing a car has become more difficult but when you leave your car running, you’ve made it easy,” she said.

Parmenter said advances in technology make it unnecessary to warm up one’s car engine before hitting the road.

AAA Insurance provided the following tips:

• Never leave your keys in your car
• Use a remote starter to preheat your car
• Start your car with keyless technology, lock it and take the keys with you

Has this information changed how you warm up your car? We’d love to read your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo by Memotions, via flickr creative commons