Satellites
set to track carjackers
From The Australian
By Robert Wilson
August 16, 2005
SYDNEY's spate
of seven carjackings in two weeks has prompted Mercedes-Benz to examine
bringing its satellite-based tracking system to Australia.
Bandits, targeting
expensive high-performance Mercedes, Porsche and BMW models, have
forced the owners to hand over the keys and have used at least one
of the vehicles as a getaway car in a later robbery.
The remote Teleaid
satellite assistance service has been available in Europe and the
US since 2000, but Mercedes-Benz has not brought it to Australia yet,
citing low customer interest and lack of satellite coverage.
"The events
of the last two weeks are worrying and we are investigating technologies
that might add to security for owners," company spokesman Toni
Andreevski said.
The system used satellites for communication and tracking and did
not require mobile phone coverage to work, Mr Andreevski said.
For now, owners
of luxury cars must rely on ground-based tracking services that are
effective, but confined to metropolitan areas.
BMW and Holden
offer mobile phone-based emergency call systems, and radio tracking
services use either the phone system or their own network of radio
towers.
Despite restricted
coverage, these systems can immobilise stolen cars or trace them to
thieves' hideouts.
Sydney-based tracking
service Quiktrak says it has recovered vehicles within half an hour
of their being stolen.
"We generally
know something's happening before the vehicle has even moved,"
Quiktrak operations manager Gary Moore said.
"We can stop
the car remotely but our policy is to do that only in co-operation
with the police."
While the spate
of carjackings in Sydney has made headlines, experts say an equally
disturbing trend is emerging in the thousands of thefts across Australia
made possible by the thieves first stealing the keys.
"More than
70 per cent of late model car thefts are now happening through access
to keys," said Geoff Hughes, a spokesman for Carsafe Australia,
a joint industry and government body dedicated to reducing car theft.
The trend had
swelled since immobilisers became compulsory on new cars in 2001,
Mr Hughes said. "Thieves are getting keys by breaking into houses
or offices and bypassing immobilisers. The only way to counter it
is for owners to treat their keys like gold."
Carsafe found
key thefts accounted for more than 70per cent of thefts of late model
cars, compared with only 20 per cent of total car thefts.
Mr Moore said:
"You can't really hotwire a car these days, and thieves know
that.
"What we're
seeing are more thefts using the keys, usually after ransacking the
owner's home. But we're also seeing more thefts from carwashes, service
stations and workshops.
"The thief
just walks in and drives away."
Cars worth $1.5
million are stolen across Australia each day, Carsafe estimates.
More than 83,000 vehicles were stolen in the 12 months to March and
about 19,000 of them were not recovered.
Australian-developed
microscopic data dots stamped with a car's unique vehicle identification
number have cut theft rates by up to 90 per cent for some models.
