As the nation prepares to turn back clocks, TRACKER is urging motorists to be extra security conscious. TRACKER’s figures show that stolen vehicle recoveries increase by 20% in the winter months and the company calls upon motorists to be extra vigilant. 

Stuart Chapman, TRACKER’s Police Relationships manager, said: ‘Our figures confirm that the winter’s extra hours of darkness allow more time for thieves to break into vehicles unseen, with November, January and February being the worst months.

‘In 2010, 84 per cent of all the stolen cars recovered by TRACKER were taken using the owner’s keys and this danger increases during the winter. Added to this, on frosty mornings many people leave their car unattended with the engine on to defrost the windscreen, making their cars a prime target for thieves.  We urge motorists to keep their keys safe at all times and think twice to avoid “frost jackers”,’ he added

TRACKER’s stolen vehicle recovery systems provide the ultimate defence in the event of theft. Over 90% of stolen cars fitted with a TRACKER device are returned to their owners and 80% of these are recovered within 24 hours. Thatcham approved, TRACKER systems work like an electronic homing device, with a covert transmitter hidden in one of several dozen places around the vehicle. There is no visible aerial, so the thief won’t even know it’s there. As an added benefit, those who fit a TRACKER system could also benefit from a possible discount on their insurance premiums.

Operated by all UK police forces, TRACKER can inform the police of the initial location of the stolen vehicle who can then employ the precision of the VHF technology to track a stolen vehicle to its exact location. The tracking device works even if the vehicle is hidden in a garage or taken abroad, as the system works in numerous other European countries, offering car owners peace of mind should the worst happen.

Stuart Chapman concludes: ‘It only takes a few minutes to make some vital but simple changes that will give car owners the best possible level of security, saving considerable heartache, not to mention expense, if your car is stolen.’