Comments or
Suggestions?Inspired by the statistics concerning number of annual car thefts, I decided to look deep into the findings of InfoSeek headed by the term "auto job". I wanted to see if I could find any other information about car thefts and to see if other sources agreed or came close to agreement with the number of auto thefts given by Code-A-Car. My search took me to the link entitled Auto Model Theft Losses. This site contains auto-theft information released by the Highway Loss Data Institute. The HLDI is an insurance industry research group affiliated with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
According to the information given at this site, the cars most likely to be the target of car thieves include sport utility vehicles, sports cars, and luxury cars (thinking about it, there isn't a great deal left). As evidence to this, the Mitsubishi Montero is 18 times more likely to be stolen than the average car. I don't see a Montero in my future!
The cars least likely to get stolen include the station wagons, passenger vans, and 4-door cars. Opposite from the Montero, the Saturn Station Wagon is about 10 times less likely to be stolen than the average car. I wonder if this includes the car (my boyfriend's) that I drive. It is an '89 Oldsmobile, 4-door. I think that in its prime it was probably considered a luxury car. Now...I don't think it's quite as luxurious so I think it might fall into the category of a 4-door car rather than a luxury car.
In the year 1993, 1.5 million vehicles were stolen. This number blew me away. It is quite close to the estimate given by Code-A-Car, but just seeing it at another location confirms the high incidence of auto theft. Actually, I can honestly say that I believe that bicycles may parallel this number or even surpass it. I know that a bicycle is not the same as an automobile, but I have had my own share of experiences of bicycle theft. Just last year my boyfriend's bike was stolen while parked along a main street. Today (Wednesday, 1 November 1995) I had parked my bike at the bike racks in front of Hemenway Hall. When I returned to it, the seat had been stolen! This sucked because I had only been at school for 3 1/2 hours and had parked it right along a very busy sidewalk on campus. I had to ride my bike home standing on the pedals the whole way (which was very tiring). Now I don't trust it parked at school. I think that people who do things like this are horrible. I ride my bike as a result of my choice to 1)get some exercise, 2)not have to deal with the hassles of driving a car, and 3)encourage a healthier lifestyle. Not only that, but riding my bicycle saves me money on gas and bus fare. I'm pretty bummed out about the whole incident. How no one saw anything is beyond me.
Back to the report...
Though the number of 1.5 million vehicles stolen is quite staggering, believe it or not, auto theft is on the decline--I don't know about that, I mean, look what happened to my bike seat today!!! Of 1994 models, 4.7 theft claims were made per 1,000 insured vehicles. This was the lowest rate of claims for any model year ever reported by the Institute. However, though incidences of theft are one the decline, expenses inflicted by auto theft is rising. Of the same models, the average claim was a record high at $4,820.
We all gripe about the high the costs of auto insurance, yet we all need it to protect our investments. The National Associaion of Independent Insurers states that about 10% of a typical auto premium represents theft-related causes. No wonder everyone complains about auto insurance rates being too high. Ten percent is a lot of money.
The rest of the site contains information on reading and understanding insurance rates and tables. They even tell you where you can get more information on insurance rates for cars according to make and model. I don't understand much of it so you will have to check it out yourself.
Sites such as these are important to Traffic Psychology because they show us how important they are not only to car owners, but to the thieves who steal them. They also show that the experience of having a car stolen can be quite trying on the emotions. I just had my bike seat stolen and I was depressed! Everyone loses out on auto theft. If you have never had your car stolen, you are still affected by the threat of having it stolen. Everyone who insures their car (law here in Hawaii) suffers because they have to pay the extra money to cover auto-theft related costs. Sites such as this one help people to see the types of cars thieves are after and serves as a warning for them to better secure their investments.
Check out teammates Jason Nakasato and Sharla Supnet for their Week 10 findings.
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