Motoring in brief

Safeguard your car during the dark nights

TRACKER, the UK’s leading provider of stolen vehicle recovery systems, is urging motorists to prepare for the dark winter months as figures show a 20 per cent increase in recoveries of stolen vehicles during the winter months compared to the height of summer. The warning comes after TRACKER compared monthly recovery figures between October 2006 and September 2009 revealing November, January and February as the worst months of the year for vehicle thefts.

“Our figures show these extra hours of darkness allow more time for thieves to break into vehicles unseen,” explains Bill Raynal, Managing Director of TRACKER. "Thieves also appear to take a break at Christmas, just like the rest of us with a 39 per cent* decrease between Christmas Eve to New Years Day, compared to the week running up to Christmas.”

TRACKER stolen vehicle recovery systems work like an electronic homing device. A covert transmitter is hidden in one of several dozen places around the vehicle. There is no visible aerial, so the thief won’t even know it’s there. The tracking device works even if the vehicle is hidden in a container or taken abroad, offering car owners peace of mind should the worst happen.

Bill Raynal concludes, “We urge car owners not to make it easy for thieves, by taking all the right security precautions. It only takes a few minutes to take these extra steps, but could save considerable heartache, not to mention expense, if their car is stolen.”

TRACKER’s Winter Security Advice

•Never leave the keys in the ignition, even if you are just stopping quickly

•Never leave you car running unattended when de-icing

•Always lock and secure your vehicle

•Make sure you don’t leave belongings on show, lock them in the boot or take them with you

•Fit a stereo with removable front panel and take it with you when you leave the car. Mark it with your vehicle registration

•Never leave car documents or spare keys inside the car

•Keep doors locked and windows up when driving

•Park in busy or well-lit and attended car parks near CCTV cameras

•If you have a garage, use it to park your car

•Don’t leave the car unattended when waiting for it to defrost

•At home, don’t keep keys in a place where they can be seen or accessed from outside

Buying tyres that could kill

AS further evidence emerges that motorists are delaying the replacement of worn or defective tyres, drivers who are looking to save money may be tempted to purchase part-worn or second-hand tyres. However, according to mytyres.co.uk – part of Europe’s largest online tyre retailing group – this may not only prove to be a false economy, but a potentially dangerous decision – some of these tyres have internal casing damage or other problems not visible to the eye that could result in a sudden deflation.

Whilst it is difficult to establish the number of part-worn tyres on sale in the UK, research suggests that the number of tyre retailers looking to supply this type of tyre because of the current economic climate is increasing. Legislation is in place in the UK to protect motorists from dangerous part-worn tyres – they must be thoroughly examined by the retailer and have a minimum of 2mm of tread – however, it is increasingly the case that they offer very bad value for money and according to Trading Standards checks*, upwards of 30% may have dangerous and unseen faults.

Mytyres.co.uk says that there has never been a better time to buy new car tyres with competition keener than ever and the web-based retailer offering one of the widest varieties of car tyres at highly competitive prices. An added incentive from the on-line retailer is their celebration of eight years in business this month, with anyone ordering tyres up to the 25th November receiving an additional 8% discount. Consequently motorists do not have to take the risk of buying part-worn tyres which may put themselves and other road users at a safety risk.