A car is a big investment and one that you expect to bring you a lot of convenience as you move around Perth for either business or pleasure. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous persons out there who would either like to rob you of your investment or leave you with mounting costs from vandalism.
Even if you have a pretty solid garage door at home, your car won’t always be behind it. Therefore, it’s a good idea to think about security around the clock. What about when you leave your vehicle in a parking spot in public? Can you do anything to deter would-be criminals?
Here is some of the most useful and actionable advice you’ll find to maximize your vehicle’s safety.
Keep Your Car Keys Secure
Sometimes, potential thieves break into homes looking to get their hands on whatever valuables they can. This could include your vehicle. Not everyone who wants to illegally obtain a car is going to spend time breaking into it and trying tedious methods to get it to move.
In some cases, the idea is to simply break into a home and try to steal car keys. After all, if you have the keys then it’s so much easier to just move the vehicle at that point.
That’s why you need to think about the best way to keep your keys secure, especially overnight. If you have spare keys and transponders, ensure they’re locked away in a home safe or some other kind of secure location.
Use Technology and Other Implements to Bolster Your Car Security
When people think about using technology, they think about getting their hands on the latest mobile phones or other implements for recreation. However, there are a lot of inventions out there that can do a great job of helping you keep your car safe.
Some of them are on the more complicated side of the fence, but others are pretty simple. A steering wheel lock is an example of a pretty good piece of equipment for parking lot safety. Without being unlocked, it becomes all but impossible to turn your steering wheel. Even your handbrake and gear stick can be protected with similar implements.
There are also kill switches that can be used to have your vehicle automatically shut down if it isn’t started in a particular way.
Don’t Leave Your Valuables in View When You’re in a Parking Space
Sometimes, thieves become attracted to a vehicle because of what they can see even before they try to break in. Remember that you always want to ensure that your car has as little appeal as possible. Therefore, if you’re leaving electronic equipment in plain view on the seats, you’re achieving the opposite of what you want.
Parking lots tend to have a lot of “options” for those looking for something to steal, and the last thing you want is for your car to appear as the best one of the said options.
Put your valuable items in places where they’re not immediately visible and take whatever you can with you as you are leaving the vehicle.
A Car Alarm and Tracker Wouldn’t Hurt
Proactive security measures are good considering that you can take them before anything ever happens and give yourself some peace of mind. Unfortunately, it’s not always so easy and even with all you do, thieves may still try to break into your vehicle or try to take it away.
Therefore, you also need to have measures in place that allow you to either intercept the theft or regain your vehicle if it has been successfully stolen.
The most common one is a car alarm, as there will be an audible sound while the act is underway. First, it notifies you and others that theft may be happening. Apart from that, it brings attention to the thieves, which is the last thing they want.
You may also want to consider having a car tracker installed since it allows you to keep tabs on the location of your vehicle even after it has been taken away.
With that kind of information, it becomes a lot easier for the police to help you recover your stolen car.
Lock Your Vehicle When It’s in a Car Park
When you started reading about a set of security tips, the last thing you probably expected to see was a tip telling you to lock your vehicle. However, sometimes the best approaches you can take to things are the simple ones.
People sometimes forget to lock their vehicles, which, of course, makes it much easier to either break into them or steal them altogether.
You can never go wrong by simply double-checking to ensure that the car is locked. It’s not just about the doors too. Sunroofs, boots, and windows should also be checked and locked. Anything you can do to make a criminal’s job harder is a plus.
Visible and Well-lit Parking Lot Locations Are Always Recommended
For obvious reasons, criminals prefer to operate in secluded and dark areas. It’s that much harder for anyone to see them doing what they do. That doesn’t mean your car will never be considered if it’s in a well-lit area, but it does mean the chances of theft are a lot lower.
Therefore, you want to specifically look out for those kinds of areas when you’re parking. People, especially security personnel, are way more likely to see your vehicle and if it is being tampered with when you select more secure parking spaces.
If you’re at home and you have a choice, avoid parking your car on the street.
Report Suspicious Activity in Car Parks if You Notice It
Doing this could be the very thing that stops would-be criminals from breaking into your car or somebody else’s. Sometimes, the moment you see people and the way they are behaving, you can almost tell that they are up to no good.
If you were to drive into a parking lot and notice a person walking around staring into the parked cars, for example, that would most certainly count as suspicious behaviour that you’d want to communicate to the relevant security personnel.
This is another reason why it’s good to maintain a high sense of awareness of your surroundings at any place thieves could be a problem.
Don’t Underestimate the Value of Surveillance Cameras
CCTV cameras don’t lie, and they can be a big help in providing a ton of information about how a crime happened and who was involved. That’s why if you can ever park within the field of view of a CCTV system, should always do so.
On that note, having a dashboard camera is a great idea, especially one that’s sending the footage to an independent location. Sometimes, the mere sight of a camera is enough to get criminals to leave your property alone.
Obey the Signs, Rules and Regulations
The signs in a parking lot are meant for order and your own safety. Drive slowly, park in designated spots, and pay attention to the directions of the security attendants.
Don’t Leave Your Itinerary Around
You don’t want criminals to get any information that could make their crimes easier to commit. If your itinerary can provide context clues that you won’t be back for your vehicle for a while, you probably don’t want it in your car.
Even if you don’t plan to stay at a particular place for a while, having a full schedule means you can be tracked to a place where your car will be easier to break into.
Wrapping Things Up
These simple tips are a great way to increase your car security whether you’re home or out and about. On that note, it’s also essential for Perth security parking operations to be given the opportunity to bolster parking lot safety.
Perth Security Services has been and will continue to secure parking areas across the board. Call us at 08 93355 660 and experience peace of mind today!
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Address
20 Stack Street. Fremantle. WA6160
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