Johannesburg - It has to one of the worst moments of anybody's life; coming outside first thing in the morning to find that your car isn't where you parked it.
According to the cops there were 56 870 cases of motor vehicle and motorcycle theft reported between April 2013 and March 2014 - including no less than 27 470 in Gauteng, 9511 in the Western Cape and 8723 in KwaZulu-Natal. That's 156 a day, or about one every nine minutes, somewhere in South Africa.
And even that may be an underestimate because most of the vehicles reported stolen were insured, and it's known that one in three vehicles in South Africa isn't insured.
Uninsured cars also get stolen, but there's little incentive to report the thefts. Either way, it's important to do what you can to prevent your cherished wheels from becoming a statistic.
WHAT CAN I DO?
Dial Direct Insurance spokesman John October came up with these seven tips to discourage car thieves:
Most important of all, before you walk away from your car, check one of the doors to make sure that it is actually locked, and that nobody has prevented it from locking by jamming your remote.
Try to park in a well-it area- preferably right under a streetlight - and in plain view, not in an out-of-sight corner of the parking level at the mall, where it's easy for car thieves to work undisturbed.
Don't leave parcels or valuable items in plain sight on the seats- that's just an invitation; rather lock them in the boot where nobody can see them - and if you have a station wagon, use the roll-out cover to conceal them.
If a window or lock gets broken, have it replaced as soon as you possibly can; every night that your car is parked with an unlocked door or a sheet of plastic taped over one of the windows makes it more likely to be broken into or stolen as more people get to walk by and see that it's vulnerable.
Improve the vehicle's security by installing a reputable alarm system, a gear lock, steering wheel lock and immobiliser.
Have a vehicle-tracking device installed; it may not prevent the car from being stolen but it will improve your chances of getting it back.
Lastly, if you think you're being followed, drive past your destination and do something silly, such as going three times round a traffic circle. If your unwanted companion is still there, head for the nearest police station.
MY CAR'S GONE - WHAT NOW?
Don't get flustered, says October, and don't let your natural panic prevent you from reporting it stolen. At the very least, even if it's not insured, getting it on to the stolen list will keep you out of trouble if the thief uses your vehicle in the commission of a crime!
If the car has a tracker, call the tracker company RIGHT NOW. The sooner they know the car is stolen, the better their chances of finding it.
Report the theft to the SAPS and file a stolen vehicle report within 48 hours.
Get out the car's registration papers, and take them with you when you go to the police station to file the report, so that you can provide details such as make, model, colour, registration number and VIN - the vehicle identification number, which is not the same; it's a long computer code on a small metal plate somewhere on the vehicle.
Take both sets of keys as well, to prove that whoever is driving your vehicle is doing so without your permission or connivance.
Report your claim to your insurance company; if it's after hours, do it on the next working day.
“Vehicle theft is a major problem for the South African public and the insurance industry,” says October. “There's no quick fix, but the best way to discourage criminals is to improve your car's security.”