The 1995 Honda Civic has been a very popular vehicle, but it is not for a good reason; these vehicles made it to the top of the list of vehicles that are stolen the most in the United States. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) discovered that this list continues to be populated by the same kinds of cars every year, but there is also good news to report. The NICB has also learned that the incidences of car theft have gone down. Credit for this fact has been given to the efforts of law enforcement agencies, the auto insurance industry as well as the NICB.
The most popular models of vehicles to be stolen are Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Acura, Ford and Dodge. The earliest year comes from 1991 and the latest is 2007. Older vehicles catch thieves eyes so often, because these cars offer these criminals the best chances they have for receiving a good price for the stolen parts.
As law enforcement agencies notice that the instances of car thefts are going up, they go out their way to inform the public on how they can prevent this from happening. In one instance, police officers in New York have taken the opportunity to tell residents to be careful where they park their vehicles. They suggest that people only park in areas that are well lit. The second suggestion is a little obvious, but they have pointed out the fact that when leaving their cars with a valet, they need to be sure this person is really working for the company the establishment has hired.
It has also come to the attention of law enforcement that vehicles targeted to be taken had expensive items in plain sight. Although it is a particular type of vehicle that these people are looking for, they will make an exception and break into a car that has an attractive item they would like to have like a GPS. Also, law enforcement officers advise that people always have their vehicles in top condition to prevent the possibility of their cars breaking down in areas where their automobiles are more likely to be stolen.
The other agency that works hard to reduce auto theft is the NICB. The NICB is an agency that receives its funding from the auto insurance companies. Auto insurance companies have a vested interest in preventing auto thefts, because the more often vehicles are stolen, the more they have to pay in claims to their clients. Each time a car is taken, the auto insurance company must give the policyholder the amount of money the car was worth according to the Kelley Blue Book; this fact causes them to expend a lot of money. With fewer thefts, auto insurance companies spend less.
The NICB has also compiled a list of tips to help people prevent their cars from being taken by burglars:
• Always lock the car and take the keys when parking,
• Install an anti-theft device,
• Install a device that makes the car inoperable if someone tries to start it without the key, Have a device installed that will make it possible for law enforcement to track the vehicle after the theft has been reported.
The vehicles that made the top 10 list of most stolen vehicles for 2007 were:
1. 1995 Honda Civic
2. 1991 Honda Accord
3. 1989 Toyota Camry
4. 1997 Ford F-150
5. 1994 Chevrolet C/K 1500
6. 1994 Acura Integra
7. 2004 Dodge Ram Pickup
8. 1994 Nissan Sentra
9. 1988 Toyota Pickup
10. 2007 Toyota Corolla
Owners of these vehicles still need to remain vigilant and make sure that they follow the advice outlined in this article to prevent their cars from being targets of the thieves.
