Travelers bicycle[/caption]Marsha Hunt---Oregon, Washington and California, like many places in Europe, favors bicycling, often as an important source of transportation, so it's important for everyone to know when to be especially vigilant to prevent a bicycle from being stolen.
In Great Britain, according to TRACKER’s annual stolen motorbike recovery figures, 31% of all bikes it recovered in 2012 were stolen in the autumn months. TRACKER states this is the time to be especially vigilant, to prevent bicycles from being stolen.
This same pattern of bicycles thefts being more prevalent in the fall occurs in other places where biking is popular and there are apt to be more bicycles used than in other places. Around the greater Portland area, that's especially true.
This is what Stuart Chapman police liaison officer for TRACKER says about the problem, “Our figures show that autumn sees the highest increase in the number of bikes being stolen with the summer months having the lowest amount of bikes being stolen and recovered. In fact we saw a drop of 10% in bikes being stolen during the winter months, compared to autumn. Overall £477,200 worth of motorbikes, mopeds, scooters and quad bikes were stolen and recovered by TRACKER during 2012.
“At the end of a good biking season, it always pays to ensure you have taken adequate measure to protect your bike when you are not using it. These simple steps can save heartache and the expense of finding that your bike has been stolen while in storage for the winter.”
The following are some of the tips offered by TRACKER to help prevent bicycles from being stolen:
TRACKER’S MOTORCYCLE SECURITY TIPS
• Fit a tracking device to ensure recovery if the bike is stolen.
• Always put the steering lock and chains on.
• Keep your keys with you at all times and keep them safe at home.
• If you have a garage, use it to store your bike.
• Make sure your garage is fitted with strong locks.
• Mark the main areas of the motorcycle with your registration number or post code.
• Purchase a good immobiliser.
• Do not advertise your motorcycle to the world by leaving it on the drive. If you do not have a garage, cover it or park it in the back garden.
• When you park your bike in a public place, cover it and park in a well-lit area.
Celebrating 20 years of the successful vehicle recovery, TRACKER is a system used in Europe to help recover stolen vehicles. TRACKER is the only vehicle tracking system operated by all police forces in the UK, offering bike owners what it claims to be the ultimate in security.
Other people in the world, as in the United States, are also trying to stop bicycle theft. The Bike Index is an attempt to do just this, by allowing people a place to register bicycles so there is a record of ownership and location.
In the meantime experts remind us to keep particularly vigilant in the fall and early winter, when bikes are more readily stolen than at other times, even though the exact figures aren't known.
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Marsha Hunt is a free-lance writer who also enjoys bicycling around the West Coast of Oregon. She became acquainted with the Journal of Humanitarian Affairs, where she contributes articles about the environment and other areas of interest, in this case the bicycle.
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