In
this installment of The Blue View, the facts and misconceptions
of the vehicle theft-related "joyride" will be discussed.
 This form of vehicle
theft is very familiar to the average American. They many times draw
on their youthful experiences where a family member or close friend's
vehicle is taken for the sheer thrill of driving the car. This stereotype
is reinforced in many of the juvenile based sit-coms on television.
Specifically, the vehicle is stolen and driven around the community
(and in most cases) returned in good condition to its rightful owner.
Unfortunately, this stereotype has gone the way of the gas-guzzler
of the mid 1970's.
Today, although still
classified as a motor vehicle theft, the joyride aspects have changed
dramatically. The typical joyride from a suburban municipality
usually ends up in a city or urban area. There, the vehicle is the
focal point in a number of games played out on city streets. The vehicle
is used to do 'doughnuts' (the vehicle is driven in a circle at a
rate of speed which causes the tires to spin wildly creating smoke
and rubber marks on the pavement). Additionally, there is the game
of chicken where the stolen vehicles are driven at one another until
one of the drivers loses nerve and turns away or, no one loses nerve
and the game ends in a serious collision. A number of cases have been
reported where the teen and young adult drivers actually taunt the
police to engage them in a pursuit or attempt to ram a police vehicle
to start a pursuit.
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At
the culmination of the joyride the vehicle, if still drivable, is
typically left in a stolen vehicle drop area and stripped of valuable
parts, after which the vehicle may be set afire. The second scenario
involves a vehicle that has been heavily damaged and is left where
it breaks down. In each case the repair bills are staggering, as is
the time the vehicle is lost to the owner. Lastly, if the police do
not make a quick recovery of the vehicle, additional scavengers begin
to systematically strip the vehicle of easily resold components such
as air bags, audio systems, wheels and tires.
Therefore, it is
extremely important to educate the prospective vehicle purchaser of
the misconceptions surrounding what is still stereotyped as a harmless
prank. Joyriding is no longer a prank!
As explained, the
more quickly the vehicle is identified by the police, the less damage
is normally found on the vehicle. This rapid recovery also lessens
the opportunity for the secondary theft of vehicle components.
Through the use of
a component parts marking system such as Invisible Phantom Footprints®
or Theft Avert® window etching system, the recovery
by the police is made more quickly. Lastly, the side benefit of
rapid recovery of a stolen motor vehicle is the higher probability
of arrest of the person(s) responsible for the initial theft. |
