Freezing conditions could fuel ‘frosting’ car crime

With freezing weather conditions upon us, Sainsbury’s Car Insurance is warning motorists to be on their guard against ‘frosting’ car crime.

The bank warns that thousands of motorists could fall victim to ‘frosting’, where opportunist thieves take advantage of drivers who leave their cars unattended whilst warming up the engine. The bank estimates that between 2000 and 2005, as many as 121,730 households may have become a victim of ‘frosting’.

Richard Clark, Sainsbury’s Car Insurance Manager said: “Many thieves are opportunistic and will look to steal your car if you leave it running unattended. We are concerned that the predicted extreme cold weather will result in more people taking this risk and becoming victims of frosting.”

The cold weather can also bring with it hazardous driving conditions and Sainsbury’s Car Insurance offers the following cold weather motoring tips:

Make sure your car has a winter service
Check your battery
Monitor your oil, water and brake fluid levels on a regular basis
Check front and rear wiper blades for wear or splitting
Check tyre condition for both pressure and legal tread depth - the current minimum legal tread depth for cars is 1.6mm.
Make sure you have antifreeze
Make sure you de-ice all of your windows before driving
Ensure your lights are clean so that you can see and also be seen
Use your headlights in rain or snow
Don’t drive too close to the vehicle in front of you - remember to allow more time and distance to brake and also to accelerate.
Where possible use major routes, which may have been gritted/salted.
Take a mobile phone if you have one - remember to ensure the battery is fully charged but don't use it whilst driving.