Keeping your car unlocked at night in driveway

Interesting report in the Indo around people not locking their cars when parked up for the night. I know one person who does this- they say it's because of the cost of repair- since they leave nothing in the car they figure they've nothing to worry about. It sort of sounds right to me but I still lock my car- I never have anything of value in it but I think if it's locked and nothing on display, they might head to the next car (sorry Neighbours :P)

“Many of these thefts, particularly at residential locations, are avoidable with an average of 33pc of vehicles being unlocked in the last three years. Unfortunately, this poor practice has risen as 38pc of vehicles were unlocked when they had property stolen from them in January 2018. We’ve even seen cases where two vehicles from the same household were unlocked and broken into,” he said.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/gardai-issue-warning-to-motorists-as-most-common-location-for-car-thefts-revealed-36748471.html

antodeco

Used to keep the cars in the driveway unlocked. About 6 weeks they were both "broken into". Wallets, purse and small bit of cash gone. Keep them locked now. It was just an opportunist that day.

Guy:Incognito

antodeco wrote: »

Used to keep the cars in the driveway unlocked. About 6 weeks they were both "broken into". Wallets, purse and small bit of cash gone. Keep them locked now. It was just an opportunist that day.

Why would you leave your wallet in the car if you know it's unlocked?

I wouldn't leave my car u locked if it was empty, never mind with anything of value or personal in it

McCrack

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Why would you leave your wallet in the car if you know it's unlocked?

I wouldn't leave my car u locked if it was empty, never mind with anything of value or personal in it

I dont think you get it

Wailin

McCrack wrote: »

I dont think you get it

Explain?

antodeco

It was more of a case of me not locking it, rather than me leaving it unlocked.

SCOOP 64

Didn't really think about until today, never lock both cars when at home only if out, but do live in the middle of nowhere, but still wouldn't leave anything of value in car.

odyssey06

The version on the journal is longer and mentions keys being stoken from the property... unclear if these are counted as unlocked or not, if not, why mention them in this article?

http://www.thejournal.ie/cars-broken-into-unlocked-3925645-Mar2018/

SCOOP 64

How do you stand with insurance if proven car was unlocked?

Atlantic Dawn

It's not as if it's hassle on a car to lock it, you either have remote central locking or keyless entry on most, you don't even need to put a key in the door.

Dog walker 1234

Why would you not lock your car? It makes no sense at all. Would you leave your garage or house unlocked?

Mc Love

Always lock my car and we've electric gates.

hmmm

Our CCTV has shown a gurrier calling around every few months checking car doors in the estate at 4am. No damage, no forcing, just checks the doors and moves on. Because it is only every few months I imagine he does quite a few estates.

One person can be responsible for an awful lot of crime, it makes my blood boil when I hear someone with a hundred convictions getting small sentences - imagine how many people that single criminal has impacted on.

C.O.Y.B.I.B

hmmm wrote: »

Our CCTV has shown a gurrier calling around every few months checking car doors in the estate at 4am. No damage, no forcing, just checks the doors and moves on. Because it is only every few months I imagine he does quite a few estates.

One person can be responsible for an awful lot of crime, it makes my blood boil when I hear someone with a hundred convictions getting small sentences - imagine how many people that single criminal has impacted on.

Same happened in Swords last week . Came out to find glove box open and checked CCTV to find a guy checking every car on the road. Had forgotten to lock mine that night , hut nothing of value in it . He spent 20-30.secs on my car then checked the boot and moved on to the neighbors. Heard of 5 cars "broken into" that night.in Swords between 4 and 5 am

Melodeon

Out in deepest culchieland; our cars are locked and alarmed/immobilised, in a locked and alarmed garage, inside a high-fenced area around the house, with two large dogs roaming the place freely 24/7, and five hundred watts or thereabouts of permanent and sensor switched lighting and CCTV.

Are people really deliberately leaving cars unlocked in housing estates??? :eek:

Uriel.

C.O.Y.B.I.B wrote: »

Same happened in Swords last week . Came out to find glove box open and checked CCTV to find a guy checking every car on the road. Had forgotten to lock mine that night , hut nothing of value in it . He spent 20-30.secs on my car then checked the boot and moved on to the neighbors. Heard of 5 cars "broken into" that night.in Swords between 4 and 5 am

My dad left his car (in Swords) unlocked by mistake and same thing. He never had anything valuable in it thankfully. Good few in the estate got done (WhatsApp group was going nuts for a few days)

dr.fuzzenstein

Melodeon wrote: »

Out in deepest culchieland; our cars are locked and alarmed/immobilised, in a locked and alarmed garage, inside a high-fenced area around the house, with two large dogs roaming the place freely 24/7, and five hundred watts or thereabouts of permanent and sensor switched lighting and CCTV.

Are people really deliberately leaving cars unlocked in housing estates??? :eek:

Did you piss off Steven Seagull to warrant that level of security?

xabi

Stupid people do stupid things

the_syco

Wailin wrote: »

Explain?

Insurance company; how much was the gold necklace in the car that was broken into?
Guy who's car was just "robbed";


:pac:

Henry Ford III

SCOOP 64 wrote:

How do you stand with insurance if proven car was unlocked?

Not so well I'd say.

jca

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Did you piss off Steven Seagull to warrant that level of security?

Standard level of security around Wexford. The amount of robberies around here is shocking, many are living in fear, people running their heating from drums because of repeated tank robberies etc.

paulbok

Melodeon wrote: »

Out in deepest culchieland; our cars are locked and alarmed/immobilised, in a locked and alarmed garage, inside a high-fenced area around the house, with two large dogs roaming the place freely 24/7, and five hundred watts or thereabouts of permanent and sensor switched lighting and CCTV.

Are people really deliberately leaving cars unlocked in housing estates??? :eek:

Whatever about car thieves, you're sorted when the walking dead shuffle your way.

givyjoe

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Did you piss off Steven Seagull to warrant that level of security?

This guy?

ted1

Dog walker 1234 wrote: »

Why would you not lock your car? It makes no sense at all. Would you leave your garage or house unlocked?

Was he misses has a Renault key card. It’s dodgy and early works, it’s about 300 to replace. She doesn’t bother locking it.

So far only her NCT and tax disc has gone missing

Melodeon

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Did you piss off Steven Seagull to warrant that level of security?

Ha! It was only when I was writing that post that I realised quite how much security stuff we have here. And I forgot to include the electric gates!
Most of it 'evolved' to the level it's at now over the years though.
The monitored alarm system/CCTV/sensor lighting grew to accommodate the security arrangements deemed necessary for the possession of certain items that require licencing by the Gardai.
The high fence and electric gates are mainly to keep the dogs IN and prevent them from getting killed or causing traffic accidents on the road or worrying the neighbours' livestock.
The double garage was recently built as part of a big refurbishment of the house and it was easy to extend the house alarm to cover it too. Previously, every vehicle we've ever had had to make do with God's Garage.

All that said, there have been plenty of robberies and burglaries around here in recent times, so I'm perfectly happy for my place to be more inconvenient and less attractive then other potential targets.
We're a handy distance from a junction of the scumbag superhighway motorway system too, which puts us well within the commute range of the sort of people who prefer to go to work under the cover of darkness.

SmartinMartin

Melodeon wrote: »

Out in deepest culchieland; our cars are locked and alarmed/immobilised, in a locked and alarmed garage, inside a high-fenced area around the house, with two large dogs roaming the place freely 24/7, and five hundred watts or thereabouts of permanent and sensor switched lighting and CCTV.

Are people really deliberately leaving cars unlocked in housing estates??? :eek:

Release the women and children before the FBI arrive at the compound

beertons

I wouldn't call them broken into if they were left open.

robtri

This was also a very common practise among car dealers a few years ago.. not sure if still is..
the days when robbing car radios was common
most cars on the forecourt where left open,
it was cheaper to replace a radio than a radio and window and/or door frame

in saying that i live in a small village...
leave cars unlocked... never leave anything of value in them.. rather they looked inside them found nothing and moved on than damaged them...

Samuel T. Cogley

They used to leave the Minibus unlocked on some outward bound centre we used to go to. Simply took the battery out. Fed up of it getting broken into.

Mc Love

robtri wrote: »

This was also a very common practise among car dealers a few years ago.. not sure if still is..
the days when robbing car radios was common
most cars on the forecourt where left open,
it was cheaper to replace a radio than a radio and window and/or door frame

in saying that i live in a small village...
leave cars unlocked... never leave anything of value in them.. rather they looked inside them found nothing and moved on than damaged them...

Really? Every dealership I've been to have their cars on the forecourt locked. And this is even going back to 04/05!

zl1whqvjs75cdy

My car locks automatically after 30 seconds or so but I'd lock it anyway myself.

robtri

Mc Love wrote: »

Really? Every dealership I've been to have their cars on the forecourt locked. And this is even going back to 04/05!

yep really....
it was a matter of costs

_Kaiser_

Always lock mine.. even once or twice with someone in it when nipping into the garage shop

antodeco

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

My car locks automatically after 30 seconds or so but I'd lock it anyway myself.

What if you leave the keys in the car and run back into the house. Does it lock?

beertons

beertons wrote: »

I wouldn't call them broken into if they were left open.

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

They used to leave the Minibus unlocked on some outward bound centre we used to go to. Simply took the battery out. Fed up of it getting broken into.

Yeah, this is kind of why I posted this thread. If you leave nothing in your car, why lock it if risking a break in? You'll either end up paying for it yourself or claim on insurance and up your premiums next year.

Assuming they're "just a thief, as opposed to a "Car Thief", If unlocked, They'll simply open the door, have a snoop and move on, assuming they're not out to steal the car.
And if out to steal the car, how easy is it to steal a car without keys these days, leaving aside the whole remote programable fraud where they steal your codes remotely through machines.

Maybe the question is, how many car break-ins (i.e. smash window/wreck door lock) are motivated by what the "burglar" sees visible by peering through the window V's what they don't see? (I'm referring to cars, V's trade vans which obviously are a different league)

FionnK86

I lived on the cormer of the N1 and griffith avenue. Car was left unlocked though i usually lock it. They took my auxiliary cable but id nothing else in it. Housemate locked his car, they broke door off and robbed a pair of penneys sunglasses.

That time i came out lucky, ive a dashcam now, wouldnt leave it unlocked, and living in a nicer area.

lau1247

antodeco wrote: »

What if you leave the keys in the car and run back into the house. Does it lock?

I'm guessing the reference here is that if you press the unlock button on the fob and don't open the door, it will re-lock after a set amount of time. you probably know that already

FionnK86

FionnK86 wrote: »

That time i came out lucky, ive a dashcam now, wouldnt leave it unlocked, and living in a nicer area.

Would the dash cam be enough excuse for someone to break into it?

honda boi

lau1247 wrote: »

I'm guessing the reference here is that if you press the unlock button on the fob and don't open the door, it will re-lock after a set amount of time. you probably know that already

Ye my cmax does this.
The driver door module is f**led so the car doesn't pick it up open just closed. So the car double locks itself automatically and even if your sitting in the car,only way to unlock is the fob.
Key been locked inside a few times
Anyway my father in law used to leave the car unlocked AND key in the ignition a few years ago
Car was never touched some how

antodeco

lau1247 wrote: »

you probably know that already

I clearly didn't. Why would I ask the question if I knew the answer?

Wibbs

Deleted User wrote: »

Would the dash cam be enough excuse for someone to break into it?

Hard to tell the mentality of the Common Scumbag, but I doubt it. They're so cheap now they'd get little for one. Hard to say though as the scumbag will just take anything and they might think a Dashcam means you've more goodies to nick. I used to take mine out every night, but gave up. Maybe unwisely.

I lock mine everywhere I go. Alarmed three point immobilisation, anti hijack and all that(which auto arms if I my brain fails me). Plus in my driveway removable steering wheel and other physical locks. Me being paranoid and all.

fletch

FionnK86 wrote: »

I lived on the cormer of the N1 and griffith avenue. Car was left unlocked though i usually lock it. They took my auxiliary cable but id nothing else in it. Housemate locked his car, they broke door off and robbed a pair of penneys sunglasses.

Did you not just create a case for not locking the door....you hadn't locked your car and the only cost you incurred was replacing an aux cable for a few euro....
Your housemate had the nightmare of sorting out a new door for their car as it was locked.
In both cases, the items stolen were of negligible value but your housemate suffered the bigger loss as their car was locked

lawred2

antodeco wrote: »

Used to keep the cars in the driveway unlocked. About 6 weeks they were both "broken into". Wallets, purse and small bit of cash gone. Keep them locked now. It was just an opportunist that day.

I think the whole point of leaving it unlocked is that you leave nothing of value in it... someone can freely rummage about and leave without causing any damage.

It's not because opportunistic thieves only like breaking the windows of locked cars

Lord Nikon

About 15 years ago, some new neighbours moved in next door. I came home from work one evening, and noticed the neighbours crewcab driver window open, and the keys in the ignition. Took the keys out, and called to the house giving him is keys. This happened about 3 times, and after that I just gave up telling him, yet he still left the keys in the ignition.
Anyway, leaving the house for work one morning, and he was outside his house, his motor had been stolen. I asked did he leave the keys in it, he said yeah.

3 weeks later he was in another motor, it was parked in his driveway, keys in the ignition.

PetroleumJello

I assume its a habitual thing for most people, I always lock mine, even when sitting a couple of meters away watching tv with it outside the window. Not something I think about I just automatically press the button and lock it as I walk away.

Recently there have been bits and pieces stolen from cars in the neighbourhood that have been left unlocked overnight. No damage to the unlocked cars or other cars, just opportunism.

lau1247

Lord Nikon wrote: »

About 15 years ago, some new neighbours moved in next door. I came home from work one evening, and noticed the neighbours crewcab driver window open, and the keys in the ignition. Took the keys out, and called to the house giving him is keys. This happened about 3 times, and after that I just gave up telling him, yet he still left the keys in the ignition.
Anyway, leaving the house for work one morning, and he was outside his house, his motor had been stolen. I asked did he leave the keys in it, he said yeah.

3 weeks later he was in another motor, it was parked in his driveway, keys in the ignition.

how long did the second one last?

Rubberchikken

Nothing of value in our car, including car, and often leave it unlocked. On the street. Quiet place though. Weve a big drive could easily take 6 or 7 cars but keep the gate closed and in and out all day and too lazy to bother.

EPAndlee

I keep my car in the garage every night. I lock the car, the two garage door are locked up,sensor lights all over the yard and a dog maybe the tractor pulled across the garage door

John_Rambo

Nothing of value to anyone else but me in my car.

But I'd still be pissed off if some opportunistic thief robbed (what's in it right now) my hiking boots, rope, board, cheap sunglasses, beanie and cap.

So, for obvious reasons I lock it in my driveway.

zom

EPAndlee wrote: »

I keep my car in the garage every night. I lock the car, the two garage door are locked up,sensor lights all over the yard and a dog maybe the tractor pulled across the garage door

Put 5 clamps on all wheels to be 100% sure !!

Henry Ford III

Heard of a case in Limerick recently. A new VW Golf left running and unattended outside a house. Weather was cold so owner was trying to defrost the car. Opportunistic thief jumps in and drives away. Insurer refused to pay out. Owners down €30k.