Why we can't have nice things

Quoted from Village Green:

February 11, 2023: Motor Vehicle Theft: An unsecured/unlocked Mercedes Benz with the keys left inside was stolen from a driveway of a resident on Fairview Terrace. Owner reports the vehicle was parked at 9 p.m. on Friday, February 10, 2023 and when she went out to the vehicle on Saturday at 9 a.m. February 11, 2023 the vehicle was missing. Vehicle was recovered in Newark several days later.

End quote.

You know, we wonder why people target our towns for auto theft.  This is why.  Just the basics folks, try just the basics.

While I preach never to blame the victim, I will like your post and hope that adding at least one extra comment sparks a conversation about this. 

I grew up in a city. You don't leave anything unlocked in a city. But we're also human and make mistakes. I've walked up to my car in the morning many times realizing the doors were unlocked from the night before. So, as Sgt. Esterhaus would remind us every week...

Let's be careful out there folks.

The majority of stolen vehicles in our two towns just happen to be unlocked vehicles, vehicles with keys inside, or vehicles that are running.

DanDietrich said:

Just the basics folks, try just the basics

Believing that nobody leaves keys in an unlocked car overnight on purpose, no matter how misguided that belief may be, frees me to focus all my agita on the failures of my favorite sports teams instead.

Well it’s been happening in millburn and short hills and Livingston for a while now…it’s mostly teenagers who are doing this. They’re dropped off by the adult criminals, and they walk in pairs trying doors to see which ones open. If they’re caught they are released back to their parents. 
In one case in short hills the guy turned into his driveway and three teenagers who were just standing on the sidewalk carjacked him. It was a really expensive car. 
Why people still leave their keys in their cars unlocked is beyond me. 

yahooyahoo said:

The majority of stolen vehicles in our two towns just happen to be unlocked vehicles, vehicles with keys inside, or vehicles that are running.

It seems like every time I read the police blotter, I see at least one stolen car report and they nearly always cite one or more of these situations. SMH!

In addition to locking the car, taking the keys (and for God's sake, turning off the engine!), putting cars in the garage can help a lot. It seems like nobody uses their garages for their cars anymore, but they might want to reconsider that.

People still have CAR KEYS and ignitions?

Used to lease cars.  Bought the last one at lease-end bc I like it  (2018 Rav 4).  It has a fob.  Without that, no one can start it.  I push a button to start my car, & I thought all higher-end carmakers have that tech now

Not sure if others with RFID fobs can gerry-rig their way into my car, or if it would start.

Being of a certain age, I admit I leave my keys in the car sometimes (usually fallen between the seats or on thr floor by then, since they're not in "the ignition").  But I need my other keys to get into my bldg & then my apt.  I suppose people who don't live alone might come home to an unlocked house.  Not me.

Still seems to me there's less theft now than in the 90s/00s, when someone stole our LOCKED Honda from our driveway. (Pre-"Gate Gate", when our neighborhood was a quick exit into Newark.)  Easy pick.  High re-sale value.
Now I have a RED car in the car-theft Capitol (E.O.). Who'da thunk?

Juniemoon said:

People still have CAR KEYS and ignitions?

Used to lease cars.  Bought the last one at lease-end bc I like it  (2018 Rav 4).  It has a fob.  Without that, no one can start it.  I push a button to start my car, & I thought all higher-end carmakers have that tech now

Not sure if others with RFID fobs can gerry-rig their way into my car, or if it would start.

Being of a certain age, I admit I leave my keys in the car sometimes (usually fallen between the seats or on thr floor by then, since they're not in "the ignition").  But I need my other keys to get into my bldg & then my apt.  I suppose people who don't live alone might come home to an unlocked house.  Not me.

Still seems to me there's less theft now than in the 90s/00s, when someone stole our LOCKED Honda from our driveway. (Pre-"Gate Gate", when our neighborhood was a quick exit into Newark.)  Easy pick.  High re-sale value.
Now I have a RED car in the car-theft Capitol (E.O.). Who'da thunk?

https://www.driving.co.uk/news/features/six-ways-thieves-can-break-into-a-car-and-how-to-prevent-it/

A “keyless car” does not have a traditional metal key to open the doors (at least, not as the primary way to gain entry) or start the motor — instead, a digital fob, card or smartphone app is used to gain entry, and as long as the digital key is detected inside the car, a push button on the inside allows the car to be powered up.

Keyless car theft is when a thief accesses and steals your vehicle without the possessing the original fob or card. This is by tricking the car into believing the digital key is being used. There are several different methods of doing this, which we’ve listed below.

I don't think "key" was literal in this sense. I call my FOB a key because I refuse to say FOB for the most part. 

the18thletter said:

I don't think "key" was literal in this sense. I call my FOB a key because I refuse to say FOB for the most part. 

yeah… sound like Fuh Cough Bro. I still say key just like every other person does.

max_weisenfeld said:

It appears keyless technology didn't solve the problems it was designed to solve and created problems that didn't previously exist

i don't know about that.  It used to be incredibly easy to break into or steal cars.  

DanDietrich said:

max_weisenfeld said:

It appears keyless technology didn't solve the problems it was designed to solve and created problems that didn't previously exist

i don't know about that.  It used to be incredibly easy to break into or steal cars.  

Unfortunately, it seems that people leave fobs in their cars as much as traditional keys and many people refer to their fobs as keys. I know I do. (I have one car with a "real" key and one with a fob.)

My co-worker lives in Summit. He said about a month ago a couple of men went into the Aston Martin dealership and took a bunch of FOBs. They stole two BMWs and then police had to stay at the dealership for a couple of days until the cars were reprogrammed in case they came back with the FOBs that had been stolen and tried stealing more cars.

jfinnegan said:

My co-worker lives in Summit. He said about a month ago a couple of men went into the Aston Martin dealership and took a bunch of FOBs. They stole two BMWs and then police had to stay at the dealership for a couple of days until the cars were reprogrammed in case they came back with the FOBs that had been stolen and tried stealing more cars.

Then there's the professional way of stealing cars invented by NYC for alternate side of the street violators or for no reason at all: the tow truck.

I have a foolproof way to prevent car theft. I have never owned a car.

Your FOB should be attached to your home keyset so that you can't leave it in the car or you can't get in the house. I've accidentally left a car door unlocked before but I've never left the key in the car. 

I don't got a home keyset. House has a keypad. I wear cargo pants and the fob is in the velcro secured pocket. It never stays in the car.

BUT

The trunk will sometimes open when I press it against something. So I have to take the fob out of my pocket when I get home.

the18thletter said:

Your FOB should be attached to your home keyset so that you can't leave it in the car or you can't get in the house. I've accidentally left a car door unlocked before but I've never left the key in the car. 

Hang up the home keyset away from the car on the far side of the house.  Car thieves can use a device to scan for the fob signal and then transmit the signal to the vehicle.  "The more walls between your key fob and your car the better protected you are."

Looks like installing kill switches might prevent some of these issues?

Put the FOB in a kitchen drawer? Oven? What’s the problem with keys again?

Would putting it in one of those RFID wallets work?

dave said:

Then there's the professional way of stealing cars invented by NYC for alternate side of the street violators or for no reason at all: the tow truck.

this happened to me once. I parked on the Sunday before MLK Day on the Mon/Thurs. alternate side parking. I figured I didn't have to move the car until Thursday so I didn't check on it. My wife called me at work on Thursday asking if I was sure I had parked the car where I told her. I left work, went searching for the car, couldn't find it so I called the police. They drove me around and then took me to the precinct. They had a notebook with a list of cars that had been towed. They had done a film on the Tuesday on that street so they towed all of the cars. They towed my car to a metered parking spot so I had a couple of tickets on the car when I got it. I ended up having to pay $70 or else have to spend a day of work going to court. One of the main reasons I don't miss living in NYC. 

Jaytee said:

Looks like installing kill switches might prevent some of these issues?

Put the FOB in a kitchen drawer? Oven? What’s the problem with keys again?

mechanical key ignitions were ridiculously easy to steal. 

As much as people are complaining about keyless ignitions, they do make it almost impossible for non-pros to steal a car, as long as the fob isn't left in the vehicle. 

Anyone who doubts this should look at car theft trends in our county over the past 20 years. When we moved here in the 90s cars were being stolen right out of people's driveways all the time. Any dope with a screwdriver could steal your car back then. 

This is the car theft rate per 100,000. Only goes through 2018, but you get the idea. 

ml1 said:

Anyone who doubts this should look at car theft trends in our county over the past 20 years. When we moved here in the 90s cars were being stolen right out of people's driveways all the time. Any dope with a screwdriver could steal your car back then. 

It seems that cars are still being stolen out of people's driveways all the time since they leave keys/fobs in the cars.

ml1 said:

This is the car theft rate per 100,000. Only goes through 2018, but you get the idea. 

Good to see that New Jersey is lower than the national average. My insurance company would like me to think otherwise.

jfinnegan said:

dave said:

Then there's the professional way of stealing cars invented by NYC for alternate side of the street violators or for no reason at all: the tow truck.

this happened to me once. I parked on the Sunday before MLK Day on the Mon/Thurs. alternate side parking. I figured I didn't have to move the car until Thursday so I didn't check on it. My wife called me at work on Thursday asking if I was sure I had parked the car where I told her. I left work, went searching for the car, couldn't find it so I called the police. They drove me around and then took me to the precinct. They had a notebook with a list of cars that had been towed. They had done a film on the Tuesday on that street so they towed all of the cars. They towed my car to a metered parking spot so I had a couple of tickets on the car when I got it. I ended up having to pay $70 or else have to spend a day of work going to court. One of the main reasons I don't miss living in NYC. 

This happened to me twice. Once my car was moved to another street and the second time it was towed to the impound lot on the west side of Manhattan.  I'm not sure it if still exists.

yahooyahoo said:

This happened to me twice. Once my car was moved to another street and the second time it was towed to the impound lot on the west side of Manhattan.  I'm not sure it if still exists.

Oh, It does.....