Survey reveals nearly a third of cars vandalised
Motorists are being urged to take necessary precautions in protecting their cars from damage as a new survey reveals nearly a third of cars are vandalised.
It has been found that almost a third of car owners have found signs of vandalisation on their cars at some stage in their driving careers.
The survey was carried out by AA Car Insurance, who have urged motorists to take extra precautions to deter vandals and thieves after almost 50% of respondents admit to leaving phones in parked vehicles.
The survey found that 30.24% of respondents had noticed signs that their car had been tampered with after returned to it after a period of the car being unused.
As we would expect the majority of those who reported having their vehicles vandalised stated this only happened on a rare occasion (78.52%) over 3% of motorists stated their cars had been tampered with or vandalised on a regular or daily basis. The AA Director of Consumer Affairs, Conor Faughnan, stated.
“While the costs associated with repairing any damage done to your car by a vandal can vary significantly, we have seen incidents where motorists have had to spend considerable amounts in order to return their car to its previous condition,"
"Depending on your insurer this kind of damage may be covered provided you have Comprehensive car insurance, but it will be treated as a claim on your policy and affect your no claims bonus as a result, which means many people opt to cover the costs themselves.
“When leaving your car unoccupied for any period of time it’s important to take suitable precautions. Particularly, when parking your car overnight, it’s better to park your car on private property or a secure car park if one is available to you, but for many these options are not always available.”
The survey also revealed that over 40% of motorists admitted leaving a phone in plain view in their car while parked and unoccupied in the past. If we haven’t done that, maybe we have left our sat navs on view when the car is parked up which makes for a tempting smash and grab scenario.
Over 10% of respondents stated that they leave their phone in an unoccupied vehicle on a daily or regular basis, something which the AA warned can act as an enticement to prospective thieves. Meanwhile, a further 25% admitted to doing so on a seldom or rare basis. Mr Faughnan went on to say:
“Obviously it happens that people leave a phone or another valuable items in their car without thinking about it, but if you start to do so on a frequent basis it can become an open invitation for people to attempt to break into your car,” “When leaving your car unoccupied you want to, at a minimum, ensure that any valuable items in your car are out of view or better yet make an effort to bring them with you.”
Author
Justin Kavanagh
Justin Kavanagh is a recognised leader
in automotive intelligence and vehicle
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He has almost 20 years experience in
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As the Managing Director of Vehicle
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