For many Albertans, our cars are more than just a way to get from one point to another. They are a gateway to freedom on the road.
Some people have years of memories with their cars, from scenic family road trips to grand adventures in the Rockies.
However, as car thefts continue to grow in Canada and our province, Albertans are at risk of losing the freedom and cherished memories their cars represent.
Many people are also worried about the safety of their families, according to a poll commissioned by Aviva Canada, an Ontario-based insurance company.
The Poll found that almost four of five Albertans were concerned about their families because of auto theft.
Most vehicles are stolen from driveways in the middle of the night, but some car thieves are even bolder, which can be dangerous.
In December, two men were arrested after a Smoky Lake man from northeast of Edmonton had his car stolen at gunpoint.
Last month, a man in Calgary was forced out of his car by a shotgun-toting car thief.
The criminal attempted to steal the man’s vehicle but fled because he didn’t know how to drive a stick shift.
Maybe it’s good that most people don’t know how to drive a standard nowadays!
A Country-Wide Problem
Auto theft is especially bad in port provinces like Ontario and Quebec, where criminals can easily ship cars overseas.
In 2022, auto theft in Ontario and Quebec skyrocketed by 50 percent. According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, more than 105,000 vehicles were stolen across Canada in 2022.
The bad news is that almost one in five of those vehicles was stolen in Alberta. The good news is that our province has a higher rate of returned stolen cars than eastern provinces.
However, the number of returned vehicles has declined in recent years, hinting at more organized crime.
In 2022, more than four in five stolen cars were returned to their owners in Alberta. Last year, that number dropped slightly to 77 percent.
Jamie Lee, head of Aviva’s Fraud Division, believes car thieves are methodically targeting cars for sale in international markets or resale within the province.
“Cars are either being taken by rail and exported overseas, or they could be ‘re-VINned,’ where the vehicle identification number (VIN) is actually being changed on the vehicle and then being sold to an unsuspecting customer,” explained Lee.
A vehicle’s VIN tracks recall, registrations, insurance coverage, warranty claims, and, more importantly, thefts.
Trying to find a car with a swapped VIN is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
In addition to swapping the VIN, car thieves will change vehicle parts with other stolen cars to make them harder to identify.
A Roadside Scare
Buying a stolen car by accident is bad news.
Most customers don’t realize they are driving a stolen car until they take it for repairs and notice the VIN has been altered.
Driving a stolen car can also lead to some scary experiences. Earlier this year, a man from Calgary and his daughter were left traumatized after an encounter with RCMP.
Trevor Mantey and his 15-year-old daughter Kallie were on a road trip to central Alberta when a spike strip used to stop vehicles appeared before their car.
“It didn’t pop my tires — I got lucky there — but I looked to my right window, and there was a police officer with a gun drawn on me and my daughter, telling us to put our hands in the air, and we had no idea what was going on,” Trevor told Global News.
Trevor was taken to the rear end of his truck by RCMP, where he noticed something off about his license plate: it wasn’t his.
He believes his legal plate was swapped with one from a stolen vehicle, a method used by car thieves to hide their identities while transporting stolen vehicles.
The situation was diffused after officers checked Trevor’s license and registration, and the pair were released, but both were left traumatized.
“There were dogs, there were guns, there were cops everywhere. They closed off the whole highway,” said Kallie.
Finding A Solution
Aviva’s poll found that one in three Albertans said they would put off buying a new car in 2024 or continue to drive their current vehicle because of worries about auto theft.
The survey respondents’ fears are echoed across the country. In response to increasing thefts, the Government of Canada held a national summit on combating auto theft.
The Car Theft Summit brought together police, auto industry executives, and politicians to create an action plan to fight back against auto theft.
One solution includes an almost $30 million investment for the Canadian Border Security Agency. This investment will allow the agency to carry out more examinations and investigations of stolen vehicles.
The federal government also promised to update the Canadian Vehicle Safety Standards, which outline safety and security requirements for new vehicles manufactured in Canada.
The standards were last updated in 2007.
Since then, most newer vehicles have adopted keyless entry and remote start technologies that car thieves have learned to exploit.
Until the standards are updated, the best way to protect your car from theft is to park off-street and make sure your vehicle is locked.
If you have a garage, park your car in it.
Even though it is cold out, do not leave your vehicle unattended to warm up before an outing.
A running car without a driver screams, “Steal me!”
People are afraid of car thefts, and rightfully so.
The Government of Canada’s summit is a step in the right direction, but whether or not changes will be successful is a different story.
