Bad motels and scary parts of town await the intrepid business traveler. Ensure your car doesn't get hijacked at those low-rent overnight dives.
Sometimes a business traveler can't avoid a seedy, run down motel stay-over. Or a night caught in a bad part of town. According to LoJack.com, " Vehicle theft is the nation's number one property crime, costing over 8.4 billion dollars each year. " The Snohomish County (WA) sheriff's department reports a typical car jacker can steal a vehicle in under 3 minutes.
Mostly Simple Tips for car parking and theft deterrent on the road:
- Park near your motel room door. Right in front of the window is good. At least get in as close as possible to ensure you can watch your car from the room.
- If you cannot park near your room, park near the manager's office, or a visible, lighted spot right by the road.
- Common sense. Lock your doors, roll up the windows and don't leave anything tempting in view. Read up on detailed common sense parking lot safety tips.
- Help your neighborhood thief understand you are keeping a watch on your car. Use a car Club device, install a blinking light to indicate an engaged security system, use a security sticker, or buy a bumper sticker that says "Smith and Wesson is My Copilot". A car thief might think twice and move on to the next car.
- Drive a beater. A car that's less than attractive isn't so much a target as a bright, shiny red Mustang. Let the car get dirty - a tactic often used for business trips requiring time spent in Mexico, for example. A beater that's good on gas will save you money, too - a Ford Escort, a Honda Civic or that ilk.
- A helpful tip from the Texas Police Department: Park with wheels turned sharply to left or right against the curb, making a vehicle less easy to tow away. Car jackers will have to have to try towing from the rear in this case, which is harder for them to control while driving. Again, they will probably move on to the next car.
- Have a car alarm rigged against car motion or being tipped.
- Install a starter disabler or kill switch.
- Install a protective metal collar around your wheel column to prevent hot wiring.
- The Polk County (FL) sheriff's department advises dropping business cars down the window shaft of a car door to help facilitate recovery of a stolen vehicle.
- Etch VIN numbers on tempting car parts - doors, bumpers, fancy wheels. You can even put a sign in the window letting thieves know you've marked your parts. Thieves like to take what is easy to re-sell at the body shop.
- Consider installing a LoJack or getting Onstar car service for nicer cars. Use their stickers, too. Remember, you want to be the car that is too much trouble for a thief to bother with. On the other hand, some thieves know how to disable these devices when they are warned the system exists. This is a tough call. If it really matters, advertise the Onstar system, and also get a LoJack that you keep under wraps.
- In bad areas of town, try to find the motel that's closest to the local police or sheriff's station. The more a cop drives by, the better for the traveler stuck nearby.
Really, what can you do?
Avoid a bad area, mostly. Don't stay at the worst motel in town. If there is a choice of hotels, do some research before - use Expedia, for example - and try to stay at a nicer location. Remember that you usually get what you pay for. Business trips are tax deductable in any case, so why not upgrade?
The Snohomish County sheriff's website offers this chilling insight as a final word: "A common scenario includes a theft ring of about 15 people who rent an inexpensive motel room. They deal and/or use drugs at the hotel. They plan some sort of criminal activity such as stealing mail. Then they steal one or more cars and then steal the mail, divide stolen checks amongst themselves, alter them, then cash them. They buy some drugs with the cash. Then they start all over again."
As always, prevention and common sense are the best defense.
