Car theft continues to be a persistent problem for motorists across Australia, and there’s only so much that a good alarm and security system can do — especially if the thief already has your keys. What if you were able to track wherever your car was on a map on your phone, though? Having your car stolen — at least for good — may soon be a thing of the past.
Car GPS image via Shutterstock
Thieves in Western Australia are apparently turning to home thefts, reports the ABC, with the sole purpose of stealing car keys — since 90 per cent of cars in WA are fitted with immobilisers and can not be operated without the correct key being inserted. WA is the most at-risk state for “theft by keys” incidents, and one group has a modern approach to solving the issue.
With car thieves using this workaround to gain access to cars, one possible solution being trialed by the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council is GPS tracking of high-risk vehicles — like Find My iPhone for your stolen car. A test run of 1,000 cars in Perth are being fitted with GPS trackers, with owners using a complementary smartphone app to set a virtual boundary around their cars — and when that perimeter is breached, the owner is sent a notification or alerted via SMS.
While it’s not a preventative measure, GPS tracking — especially if it’s undetectable by theives — should make for a great deterrent to stealing a car in the first place, as long as potential thieves know that they might be caught. [ABC News]