Jul
14
Car Owners Guide To Car Alarms
Filed Under Autos, Trucks and More
The Motor Insurance Repair Center (MIRC) sets all guidelines for car alarms in the UK. The Center was created in 1969 by insurers in Britain and care safety in particular became important after the 1980’s when car theft increased dramatically.
The MIRC’s main roles is to test and improve the effectiveness of car safety equipment. This includes rating anti-car theft devices such as car alarms. The alarms are tested by having various cars broken into at the center. These are known as attack tests. The car is broken into at different areas each time. The bonnet, the side doors and the boot are all used to get the car open. There are also tests that attempt to start the car without the original keys and overcoming a lock on the steering wheel. The anti-theft equipment is then given a score to see just how well it actually works and whether improvements need to be made.
Understanding Thatcham Security Categories
When Thatcham tests products it then puts them into different categories depending upon their effectiveness. Category 1 is for combined immobilisers and alarms The 2-1 Category is for Cat 2 immobilisers that have had movement detection, battery back up and a alarm siren added.
When alarms were fitted into cars, it made it more difficult for thieves to steal the car. In many cases, however, this just made the thieves even more determined. Instead of just breaking into the car, the thieves started to break into the home and steal the actual keys. Thieves now started to target the location of the car keys by breaking into owners homes. It was the high value, sportier cars that were particularly targeted. They can take off the various parts and sell them on to different countries. Unfortunately there was no alarm category that could deter these thieves.
However a solution was developed. The Police could trace car tracking systems hidden in the car once the car had been reported stolen. The tracker is activated via a support center and the route in which it is heading is shown which makes it easy to recover the car before any damage has been done.
The Importance of Proper Installation
Purchasing an alarm or security system is only the beginning of protecting your car. Another thing that you have to ensure is that you have it correctly installed. Many insurance companies require that the alarm be fitted by a qualified installer and issued with an installation certificate. This means that you will not be able to get a discount on your insurance.
More recently Thatcham introduced a range of security ratings that showed how secure new car models were. As usual Thatcham run the cars through a rigorous range of tests to establish the security of the car but with results that are easy for the prospective car buyer to interpret. Car alarms have come a long way in the past decade and thanks to Thatcham, UK car alarm systems are constantly being tested and updated to provide us with the highest level of security for our car.