With the rapidly advancing technology of theft-deterrent devices for automobiles, a new crime has been born. Nowadays you don’t need to worry about your total car being stolen, just your tires.
If you live in the Los Angeles, California area, you are living in one of the largest car/tire theft hot spots. LOS ANGELES TIRES ARE NOT SAFE!!! Some people’s tires can be more valuable than their automobile. A really nice tire paired with a shiny, fancy 24 inch rim can put the value approximately $2,000 per tire. This can appear as an attractive and easy target. Many people are probably thinking, “How can someone steal my tires without taking my entire car?” Tire theft is rather easy and can be done in five minutes or less. That may not be as fast as a NASCAR pit crew but it is plenty fast enough that you probably wouldn’t see them.
The few instruments a “tread-lifter” (my own term for a tire thief) requires are a jack, a tire iron (lug nut wrench) and some sort of blocks to prop the car upon. The bandit quickly jacks the car up, inserts the blocks underneath, removes the tires and rolls them away. Chances are if this is a regular hobby of the thief, he probably has an accomplice for greater efficiency. This is frequently accomplished in the middle of the day because passers-by just assume that another person is working on their tires, possibly rotating them. There are a couple of devices which are accessible to help deter the pesky plunderers.
The most popular theft-deterrent system is the wheel lock. It is specialised lug nut (normally there are four complete on a car; one on everytire) that demands a special key to remove it. Another way which is increasing in popularity is installing a individual alarm system for your tires. One more strategy that was patented was a unique fastener which is put over the lug nut and produces a seal. It spins freely over the lug (kind of like the child proof door knob covers) stopping the lug from being loosened with out the seal becoming broken. All of these methods mentioned are termed “theft deterrents” not “theft stoppers” because if somebody really desires your tires they are going there are tools that disable alarms. Regrettably there is almost nothing that can be done to totally prevent this.
Tire theft is a increasing dilemma that probably will not go away. It will most likely just get worse, especially for the duration of challenging financial times like we are currently experiencing. The smartest thing we can do to defend ourselves is to get to know your neighbors and watch out for one another. If we all stick together, we can at at least make it more difficult to be victimized.