Do not park your car here right now, the experts warn
A new thrust in car flights guarantees additional caution.
Depending on where you live and work, parking could be the worst of your daily life. If you do not havea garage, an aisle or a designated parking space, you are obliged to find a street car park, which is a large enough headache, but it could become even more problematic. Public safety and criminality experts warn that thieves aretarget cars Parked in some areas, looking for a specific part that has become more and more valuable recently. Read to find out where they say you should not park your car now if you do not want to become one of the victims of these growing car flights.
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The catalytic converter flight has considerably aspiring over the past year.
The catalytic converter theft has increased over the past year due to a tip of the price of rare metals used to be part of the car. These flights were rare before the Pandemic of Covid, with aAverage of 282 flights One month in the United States in 2019, data from the National Office for Insurance Crime (NICB). In 2020, this average increased by 1,203 flights a month, but there was an exponential growth of 652 on January 20 at 2,347 reported on December 20, 2020.
And now, it is soar further: from January to 2021, almost26,000 catalytic converters According to a report of the public archives, were stolen. This is a monthly average of 5,200 flights, an increase of 122% of the average in 2020.
"It's an opportunistic crime"David GLAWEPresident and Chief Executive Officer of NICIB, said in a statement. "As the value of the precious metals contained in catalytic converters continues to increase, the number of flights of these devices is therefore a clear link between crisis times, limited resources and the disturbance of the supply chain that entails investors to these precious metals. "
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Parking Your car in the streets where there is little pedestrian traffic can make you an easy target.
TheCatalytic Converter String At public safety and criminality experts warn where you should not park your car right now.Mark Ponegalek, a public information manager at the Torrance Police Department, California, who experienced an influx of flights, saidUnited States today That drivers must be stationed in streets with high foot traffic. Thieves target cars parked in areas with a little lighting and people to testify of the crime.
"Secure parking is great, but you certainly want to park in a well-lit area or in a street that has a high traffic," said Ponegalek. "[These thieves] are looking for streets where there is not a lot of foot traffic to enter and go out."
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Some vehicles are more likely to be stolen for their catalytic converters.
Indicates that specific cars are targeted. According to site data, Toyota, Honda and Lexus Vehicles are the main targets for catalytic converter thieves currently. In 2020, the most common targeted cars were Toyota Prius, the Honda, Toyota 4Runner, Toyota Tacoma and Honda Agreement.
And some states see more catalytic converter flights than others.
Some states experience worst rates of car flights as others too. The current trends are concerned, California, Texas, Washington, Minnesota and Colorado should be the states hard hit this year.
However, Arizona, Connecticut, New Jersey, Florida, Nevada, Oklahoma and Georgia have already had significant tips in the catalytic converter flights in 2021 compared to 2020.
You can buy a device that will make it more difficult to steal your catalytic converter.
The NICB recommends car owners install an anti-flight device on their catalytic converter that consists of slipping the part of the car is so easy for thieves. "Deleting a catalytic converter only takes minutes using basic tools, readily available, to the battery from a local hardware," the Glawe, the president and the leader of the Nicaut executive.
According to Nerdwallet, there are manyDifferent types of devices Designed to do the job. There are steel shields that are suitable for the part of the car and require additional times and tools to be eliminated, tough high-strength steel cages and stainless steel cables that can be welded from the catalytic converter to Your car frame for a secure lock.
Depending on what you choose, these anti-theft devices will cost you everywhere from about $ 250 to $ 800, Colby Sandman Owner of Muffler Tech in Sacramento, California, told Nerdwallet. And although it may seem like a steep price, it is probably cheaper than having to replace your catalytic converter. GLAWE says it will cost you "$ 1,000 to $ 3,000 for your vehicle to be fixed."
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