Cooler heads should prevail when it comes to warming your car up in the winter time.
Beloit Police Sergeant Mark Franseen says it’s quite easy for a vehicle to disappear from right in front of your home. He says low temperatures prompt many people to leave their car running to warm it up, while they wait inside the house. Franseen says that can be an enticing target for someone looking for a ride and your car just might disappear for a few days.
So far this winter, Franseen says two cars have been stolen while they were left running to warm them up. Last winter, about eight vehicles were stolen in the Beloit area while they were left running.
In one case this year, Franseen says police were responding to a call of a car taken while it was warming up, only to find the vehicle’s owner warming up another car in the driveway that was left unlocked.
To help protect your warmed vehicle from driving away without you, Franseen suggests making a duplicate key and leaving the doors locked while the car is running.
AUDIO: Sgt. Mark Franseen (:18)