Fleets urged to do more to protect drivers from high-tech car thieves

With car thefts on the rise, fleets are being urged to do more to deter thieves using high-tech methods to steal vehicles.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a 25% year-on-year increase in car thefts in May, but FleetCheck says awareness of the methods that can be employed to stop relay thefts, for example, remain patchy among vehicle operators.

Peter Golding, managing director at the fleet management software company, said: “Feedback from our client base indicates that fleets often know thefts are an increasing problem but while some are being very proactive, others are poorly informed about the methods that thieves are now using and how to deter them.

“We’d like to see much more of an acknowledgment that this is becoming a genuine issue and agreement on best practise that can help to stop company cars and vans being stolen.”

Many of the most effective methods of protection against high-tech car theft are relatively simple and inexpensive.

“In the case of relay theft, it can be an issue of putting the key into ‘sleep’ mode, which some models allow, or placing it inside a Faraday wallet to disrupt the signal, something that costs just a few pounds,” Golding explained.

“Interestingly, some security experts recommend meeting the high-tech approach of the thieves with pretty low-tech responses.

“If someone is creeping onto your drive armed with a laptop, then an old-fashioned steering lock stands a good chance of deterring them.”

He says that fleets need to brief drivers about the potential for high-tech theft and explain what is needed from them in terms of protection.

“This is an area of fleet management where driver buy-in is crucial but can be difficult to generate,” he added.

“For company car and van drivers, a car theft can be seen as an inconvenience rather than a major worry and employers need to make it clear that they expect certain measures to be met, such as where vehicles are parked and keys kept, for example.”