IAS News and Press
The Blue View
Jan 15, 2002
Captain Walter A. Kimble, Rockaway Township Police Department, Rockaway Township, NJ
In this installment of The Blue View, the facts and misconceptions of the vehicle theft-related "joyride" will be discussed.
This form of vehicle theft is very familiar to the average American.They many times draw on their youthful experiences where a family member or close friend's vehicle is taken for the sheer thrill of driving the car.This stereotype is reinforced in many of the juvenile based sit-coms on television.Specifically, the vehicle is stolen and driven around the community (and in most cases) returned in good condition to its rightful owner.Unfortunately, this stereotype has gone the way of the gas-guzzler of the mid 1970's.
Today, although still classified as a motor vehicle theft, the joyride aspects have changed dramatically.The typical joyride from a suburban municipality usually ends up in a city or urban area.There, the vehicle is the focal point in a number of games played out on city streets.The vehicle is used to do 'doughnuts' (the vehicle is driven in a circle at a rate of speed which causes the tires to spin wildly creating smoke and rubber marks on the pavement).Additionally, there is the game of chicken where the stolen vehicles are driven at one another until one of the drivers loses nerve and turns away or, no one loses nerve and the game ends in a serious collision.A number of cases have been reported where the teen and young adult drivers actually taunt the police to engage them in a pursuit or attempt to ram a police vehicle to start a pursuit.
At the culmination of the joyride the vehicle, if still drivable, is typically left in a stolen vehicle drop area and stripped of valuable parts, after which the vehicle may be set afire.The second scenario involves a vehicle that has been heavily damaged and is left where it breaks down.In each case the repair bills are staggering, as is the time the vehicle is lost to the owner.Lastly, if the police do not make a quick recovery of the vehicle, additional scavengers begin to systematically strip the vehicle of easily resold components such as air bags, audio systems, wheels and tires.
Therefore, it is extremely important to educate the prospective vehicle purchaser of the misconceptions surrounding what is still stereotyped as a harmless prank.Joyriding is no longer a prank!
As explained, the more quickly the vehicle is identified by the police, the less damage is normally found on the vehicle.This rapid recovery also lessens the opportunity for the secondary theft of vehicle components.Through the use of a component parts marking system such as Invisible Phantom Footprints or Theft Avert window etching system, the recovery by the police is made more quickly.Lastly, the side benefit of rapid recovery of a stolen motor vehicle is the higher probability of arrest of the person(s) responsible for the initial theft.
About IAS
Innovative Aftermarket Systems (IAS) is the leading provider of F&I aftermarket programs to automotive dealerships. IAS offers a variety of products including, GAP, Invisible Phantom Footprints, Theft Avert, Super Polysteel, The Preferred Advantage, R.O.A.D. InTire, among others. Additionally, IAS' flagship software suite, SmartDealerProducts, provides revolutionary F&I software solutions for dealerships and their customers. IAS' training department, SmartDealerUniversity, provides ongoing training and feedback to ensure continued penetration, ethical presentations and increased profits for IAS dealership customers. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, IAS has hundreds of certified agents throughout the United States and provides technology solutions and aftermarket products for many of the top-100 dealer groups. For more information, please visit www.iasdirect.com.