According to the FBI, July and August are the “hottest” months for vehicle theft. As the July 4th holiday—which has the one of the highest incidences of vehicle theft of all national holidays*— approaches, LoJack Corporation (NASDAQ: LOJN) and the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators (IAATI) are embarking on an education effort — National Vehicle Theft Protection Month — to help owners protect their cars, motorcycles, construction equipment and commercial vehicles from today’s professional thieves.

Now in its sixth year, this year’s National Vehicle Theft Protection Month initiative features a new all-encompassing auto theft infographic that highlights the results of a new consumer intercept survey conducted by LoJack, along with the latest vehicle theft facts and stats. Also new this year are man-on-the-street and at-home video interviews featuring drivers answering a variety of vehicle theft-related questions.

*NICB’s 2010 National Crime Information Center (NCIC) Holiday Vehicle Theft Analysis

Survey Shows Consumers Care About Theft, But Leave Vehicles Highly Vulnerable
The new LoJack intercept survey, which was conducted among more than 4,500 consumers in four different U.S. cities in April and May 2012, revealed that the majority of people (79%) think about vehicle theft from occasionally to often; however, 36% don’t take any measures to protect their vehicles. Moreover, bad habits such as leaving a running vehicle unattended (45%) or parking a car and leaving it unlocked (23%) make vehicles highly vulnerable to today’s clever and opportunistic professional thieves.

There is also a growing link between car theft and identity theft, as thieves can not only drive away with a person’s vehicle, but their identity when documents containing personal information such as a vehicle registration or even bills are left in a vehicle. In fact, nearly one-third (32%) of respondents admitted to having left an electronic device or documents with personal information in plain view, leaving them vulnerable to identity theft. A full 64% of consumers acknowledged to having their home address programmed into their GPS systems, enabling thieves the opportunity to drive right to the owner’s home, enter through the garage door and potentially burglarize their home.

LoJack Joins Forces with IAATI to Spread the Word About Vehicle Theft Protection
This year, LoJack is conducting National Vehicle Theft Protection Month with the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators (IAATI), a highly respected organization comprised of some of the nation’s foremost law enforcement vehicle theft investigators and task force members who work every day to help minimize the costly issue of vehicle theft. Together, the two organizations will help spread the word to the public that vehicle theft is still a very significant problem and present ways in which consumers can keep their vehicles safe.

What Can Consumers Do to Keep Their Vehicles Safe?
Both LoJack and IAATI offer the following recommendations: by combining common sense approaches, theft prevention and immobilization devices and tracking/recovery systems, consumers can protect their vehicles from theft.

• The first important step: Use Common Sense Measures. Never leave keys in the vehicle with the engine running. Don’t hide a spare key in the vehicle. Close all windows and lock all doors when leaving your vehicle. Park in a well-lit area and, when at home, keep your vehicle in the garage. Don’t leave valuables visible in your car, particularly those items that include information on your identity. Don’t program your home address in your GPS system under “home” as it could lead thieves right to your house, where they could potentially enter it through a garage door opener in the car. Instead, program your home address under a general destination.

• The second step: Use Theft Prevention Products. A thief may be less inclined to steal your car if it has visible and audible warning devices like a wheel lock or alarm system. Immobilizers—which include smart keys, kill switches and fuel cut-off devices—can offer another means of protection. While the professionals can often disable these devices, they do offer another means of deterrence.

• The third step: Use a Tracking and Recovery System. Since thieves can disarm theft prevention devices and factory installed telematics systems, recovery systems provide the peace of mind that you’ll get your car back – often quickly – in the event it is stolen. Effective systems are directly integrated with and used by law enforcement, use Radio Frequency technology, which has proven to be optimal for recovering stolen vehicles, and are covert so they cannot be disengaged.

Source PRNewswire

Tags: General

What Do You Think? »

Today marks the official start of summer, but for most teens, summer vacation is already in high gear. That means that the season known as the 100 Deadliest Days for teen drivers — Memorial Day to Labor Day — has begun.

To bring attention to safe teen driving this summer, BeSmartBeWell.com is inviting the 15,000+ members of our Facebook community to make today, June 20th, Safe Teen Driving Day. On the Safe Teen Driving Day event page, BeSmartBeWell friends are invited to join the Safe Teen Driving movement, interact with experts and share ideas on how they will stay safe today, and every other day of the year.

Hear From Experts
The Safe Teen Driving Event will feature guest postings by teen driving experts, including Erin Sauber-Schatz, Ph.D. M.P.H., a senior research scientist with the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other contributors include Eliseo Saldivar, a longtime driving education instructor and faculty advisor to an award-winning safe-driving campaign, and Bryan Epstein, a high school student and national teen driving advocate.

There will be important videos on teen driving and a downloadable parent-teen driver agreement. The agreement lists driving rules — like always wear a seat belt, never text and drive, etc. — and spells out consequences for violating those rules.

Take Action and Get Involved
One of the best ways to keep teens safe behind the wheel is to start talking about safe-driving rules and expectations. Research shows teens who have parents who establish clear boundaries and expectations are less likely to engage in risky driving behavior. The BeSmartBeWell Facebook Event is intended to get parents and teens commenting, posting and sharing ideas on this Safe Teen Driving Day.

Also on Facebook.com/BeSmartBeWell, experts and real-life parents provide practical advice for starting conversations about safe driving and getting teens the driving experience they need to be safe behind the wheel.

Learn More about Safe Teen Driving
The conversation continues at BeSmartBeWell.com/Teen-Driving, where parents and teens will find:

• Interviews with leading experts, real parents and real teens
• Sample driving agreements
• Reputable resources and links for more information
• A quiz about the risks to teen drivers.

At the site, visitors can also sign up for the bimonthly Spotlight Newsletter and biweekly News Alerts for in-depth articles and breaking news on teen driving and other important health topics.

About Be Smart. Be Well.
BeSmartBeWell.com is sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Divisions of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Source PRNewswire

Tags: General

What Do You Think? »

There are many different facets to buying a car, and many are easy to overlook. Most people see things like taxes, repairs and insurance costs as afterthoughts to the car purchase. In reality, they play a huge part in the overall cost of your vehicle. At AutoLiquidator.com, we try to draw more attention to these factors to simply help you get better deals on cars.

First off, what state you buy your next car in will play a big part. Not all states are equal for car buying, and some states are much cheaper to own a car in than others. Depending on what state you live in, you could be paying much more or much less on taxes, fees, insurance, auto financing, repairs, resale value and even gas.

One of the biggest factors at play is the insurance rate, which can vary greatly from state to state. In general, states with a smaller population density have less congested traffic, which in turn means fewer accidents. Fewer accidents means less claims, which keeps the rates low.

This is clearly evident when you compare rates for the exact same cars in big cities to rural areas, like Los Angeles compared to rural Iowa. Another contributing factor is that larger cities generally have higher crime rates, and crime rates can hike up your insurance rate.

Another big factor with insurance rates is what percentage of the state’s population is insured. Drivers without insurance are not able to pay their end of the damages when they get into an accident, which raises rates for the people who actually are insured. Nearly 25% of drivers in Florida and Oklahoma are uninsured, whereas states like Maine and Massachusetts have as little as 4%.

Some states with exceptionally low average insurance rates are:

• Maine
• Iowa
• Wisconsin
• Idaho
• Vermont
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Ohio
• New Hampshire

States like Nevada, Connecticut, West Virginia, Maryland and Idaho have all seen their rates drop in recent years. Some of the worst states in terms of insurance rates are:

• Louisiana
• Oklahoma
• Michigan
• California
• Texas
• Florida

Insurance rates aren’t the only thing that varies from state to state. You still need to consider things like your car’s depreciation, shipping fees, registration fees and taxes. Different vehicles lose value at different rates, and some are much easier to resell in some states than in others. Some states have higher sales taxes than others, and some have none at all.

Obviously shipping a car all the way to Alaska or Hawaii is going to cost you more than one of the contiguous states. Another thing to consider is the quality of the roads and weather conditions throughout the year. The extreme weather shifts, salty roads and generally poor road conditions in Michigan will take a greater toll on your vehicle than if you drove in a moderate climate like in southern California.

When you are working out your budget and trying to see how you will be able to fit a car into it, it will benefit you a great deal to take these things into consideration. You may not have a choice what state you buy the car from, but being a more informed car buyer is the best way to get better deals on your car purchases.

Source AutoLiquidator.com

Tags: General

What Do You Think? »