Having parked up outside his workplace in central Glasgow, James Watson was forced out of his vehicle by a thief, who stole his new Vauxhall Astra.

When reporting the incident to the police, Watson pointed out that the vehicle was equipped with Vauxhall OnStar, meaning it had a GPS locator that would help recover the vehicle.

Working directly with the OnStar team, the police found the car at a petrol station four miles away and apprehended the offender.

OnStar’s stolen vehicle assistance feature also allowed the operator to remotely deactivate the ignition when the thief turned off the engine, giving the police the opportunity to recover the vehicle undamaged.

“It was a terrible experience, one I wouldn’t wish on anybody else,” said Watson. “After the initial shock of what happened subsided, I realised that we could locate the car – and probably the offender – through OnStar.

“I’m really grateful that the technology was in place to recover the vehicle so quickly, helping me to get back on the road knowing the thief had been caught.”

Mike Lee, UK head of OnStar strategy and planning, said: “This was a horrible experience for James and we are sorry to hear that he was a victim of crime.

“We are relieved that the technology in the car could assist the police in recovering his car and apprehending this criminal.”

OnStar is available across the Vauxhall range, and includes a number of safety and convenience functions to support drivers. In addition to stolen vehicle assistance, features include automatic crash response, destination download, 4G Wi-Fi hotspot, smartphone connectivity and vehicle diagnostics.

Following the recovery of the vehicle assisted by Vauxhall OnStar, the offender was sentenced to 10 months, 15 days in jail and disqualified from driving for nine months.

 

More articles on: