Our advice for keeping your vehicle safe from thieves.
When you rely on your scooter or motorbike for work, it’s important to keep it as safe and secure as possible. In London alone between 2016 and 2017, figures show that 15,000 scooters, motorcycles and mopeds were stolen (up from 9,000 stolen the previous year). That’s more than half of all the stolen vehicles in the city.
Whilst it’s difficult to put an exact price on the overall cost to the victims, if you apply an average value of £3,000 for every stolen vehicle, the total cost of the thefts stands at £45 million.
The biggest problem with scooters is that they’re relatively easy to steal compared to other vehicles, especially if they’re not secured properly. In fact, the Metropolitan Police have stated that it only takes seconds to steal a scooter that’s either unsecured or has inadequate security.
To help combat theft, the police recommend using at least two security measures to secure your scooter. With that in mind, we’ve put together some tips on scooter security which could help you stay on the road and keep you earning.
1. Never leave your keys in your bike
When you’re always on the go, it can be difficult to remember even the simplest things such as your scooter keys. So that thieves don’t have an easy time stealing your scooter, it’s a good idea to take a couple of seconds once you’ve parked up to make sure you remember to take your keys with you — even if you’re only going to be away from your scooter for a matter of moments.
Did you know?
There’s only a 40% recovery rate for stolen two-wheeled vehicles.
2. Use a lock
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that locks make it more difficult for your scooter to be stolen. To make your scooter as secure as possible, it’s a good idea to use a chain lock through the back wheel. If you can, secure your scooter so that the lock is off the ground and chained around an object that can’t be moved. Look for railings or a lamp post — that way thieves will be prevented from picking the entire scooter up.
3. Park wisely
We know that it’s not always easy to find a secure parking space. If you don’t have access to a garage, try parking somewhere that’s well lit and visible from your home. Not possible? An alternative is to use schemes such as Park Mark, which has been designed in association with the British Parking Association to provide drivers with a safe place to park.
4. Cover it up
Bike covers are a quick and easy way to protect your scooter, especially if you have a make or model that’s regularly targeted by thieves. There are two main advantages to bike covers; firstly, they prevent your scooter from being seen, meaning thieves are unable to determine the type of scooter you have whilst it’s covered.
Thieves also target scooters that can be stolen quickly. A scooter with a cover on it will cost thieves valuable time and prevent a quick getaway — which could make the difference between you keeping hold of your scooter and having it stolen.
Did you know?
75 powered two wheelers were stolen every day in 2016
5. Invest in additional fittings
Although they can be expensive, additional fittings such as alarms and trackers could make a huge difference. Look out for alarms that are Thatcham-rated 1 or 2. It’s also a good idea to seek out an alarm with extras including immobilisation, movement sensors and anti-grab. All of these will not only make your scooter harder to steal, but they could also increase your chances of tracing and recovering your vehicle successfully if it is stolen.
Remember, if you are unfortunate enough to have your scooter or motorbike stolen, you should contact the police immediately rather than trying to recover the vehicle yourself. If you go after a thief, you could be putting yourself at serious risk.
Sources:
https://www.met.police.uk/scootersecurity
http://www.parkmark.co.uk/about-the-safer-parking-scheme
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/features/have-million-missing-motorcycles-gone/
https://www.visordown.com/tags/motorcycle-theft-statistics-uk