Looking at the rates of crimes with vans at the moment is enough to make you lose sleep. There are so many ways in which a van can be vulnerable to thieves, and so many things to protect against. In 2011 there was a trend towards thieves only targeting the fuel inside vehicles, thanks to the rise in fuel prices. Drivers are now advised to think about the way they park, and aim to set the cap for their tank facing another vehicle or into traffic to restrict thieves from access. Failing this you can also get an anti siphon fitted to the tank.
Keep Your Wits About You at All Times
Police are always warning against opportunists, but people still make the same kinds of mistakes when it comes to protecting their vehicle. You can’t leave the keys in the ignition when you make a delivery. Thieves will go on circuits and loiter around for just this kind of opportunity. To prevent against criminals smashing a window and grabbing things from your cab you can also get yourself some laminated windows. These will make most attacks bounce off. Don’t give thieves an easy opportiunity to help themselves to your vehicle and its contents.
Make Sure Your Locks Are Up to Scratch
For a lot of other crimes, the problem is the weakness of the lock in the cargo area. Getting a more advanced lock fitted doesn’t always help, as it’s the bodywork of the van around the lock that criminals actually target. For this you need to get something with steel plating. Delivery people can also benefit from having good slam locks. This will mean you don’t have to manually lock the door each time, and you can get remote opening too to take the hassle out of loading and unloading.
Big Brother Is Watching You
Other measures aim to deter criminals or stop them doing too much damage. CCTV and smartwater are generally good ideas, while things like wheel locks at least reduce the likelihood of you waking up to find a van completely gone. The countermeasure of bulkheads will also restrict a thief from getting from the cab to the cargo.
Remeber to protect Your Catalytic Converter
Sadly catalytic converters are also in the firing line these days, as they contain expensive metals. But you can get locks and plating to protect against these being simply sawn off. Thieves have cottoned on to the value of catalytic converters in revcent years and as such, catalytic converter theft has increased dramatically.
This post was provided by Jimmy Heart – a catalytic converter theft victim from the UK.