My Major 5 Advice for Car Safety When You’re Home

În timp ce garage security is helpful, not all of us have the space to park in a garage when we’re home. That leads to a lot of cars left in driveways and on the curb, which can increase the risk of tampering or theft when no one is watching. 

Fortunately, once-common crimes like catalytic converter theft have become rarer. State Farm reports claims dropped sharply by 74% in early 2024, compared to only a tiny decrease in 2022. But if you know that cars suffer from break-ins or vandalism in your area, there’s still a lot you can do to add protection — before you have to make a painful insurance call. Here’s what I’ve found works the best to keep watch on your vehicle.

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Set up a security camera with person detection — and a siren

Astăzi camere de securitate pentru acasă sunt wireless with long-lasting batteries and multiple extra features like night vision. It’s easy to post a model like the Blink Outdoor 4 above your garage door or in a similar spot where it can monitor your driveway and nearby street for years without needing a battery change.

Person detection is especially useful on car-watching cams, because you can get notifications when someone is approaching your car if there aren’t usually people nearby. An accompanying siren or two-way audio — also common inclusions in our favorite security cams — make it easier to scare away anyone who should be keeping their hands off.

Finally, if your car is parked a distance from your home and a nearby security camera can’t connect to Wi-Fi, there are alternatives like cellular/LTE cameras that don’t need Wi-Fi to function.

If you’re renting, you may not be able to put your own security cam outside, but you can often place one against a window to look out over your car. It’s not a perfect solution, but it could help out if property management needs more evidence of vandalism or a similar problem.

Use a motion-sensing LED light at nighttime

A bright LED light aimed at your driveway is a great way to scare off potential thieves and vandals when it gets dark. Our favorite option here is a security camera with bright lights, so it can use person detection to only flash floodlights when a person crosses its detection zones.

If you want to keep your light separate from your security cam, there are powerful (and cheaper) alternatives too, like this 4,200-lumen Lepower motion detection LED floodlight.

Put motion sensors in your driveway

While lights are helpful, if you want an even more effective combo for a private driveway, you can add a motion sensor that triggers an indoor chime so you know when someone is much closer to your home and car than they should be.

Look for a model that’s weather-resistant and can ignore the passing of small animals, like this 50-foot driveway alarm (bonus points for its cute owl-like shape).

Get a smart garage door

If your car is normally in a garage, it has extra protection against intruders, although some thieves will test garage doors to see if they can roll up or even use the spoofed garage door controller trick on older garages. Or, you might simply forget to close the garage at night.

Our favorite fix for these concerns is a smart garage door that can send you alerts, enable remote controls, and close itself after a certain amount of it. Many of these models require replacing your garage door motor, but others are cheaper retrofits that work with existing garage doors.

Adopt an aftermarket security system

Not every car comes with pricey, built-in motion detection. However, you can add your own aftermarket security system with comparable benefits, no matter where your car is parked. One of the best examples is this Ford Perimeter Plus Vehicle Security System for $225, which includes a two-stage shock sensor with a progressive alarm and an option for an LED warning light kit.

Look up your car’s make and model, and you’ll probably find similar options to fit it, if you don’t mind paying more for targeted protection.

Bonus tip: Don’t park on the curb

When you need to park a car outside, always try to keep it in your driveway. A car at the curb is a much more tempting target for a smash-and-grab or other hijinks. The closer your car is to your house, the easier it is to protect it with our tips.

Pentru mai multe important security tips everyone should know, check out the common home security myths people still believe, how home technology hacking really worksși the best ways to prevent burglars and break-ins.