Kelowna

A successful Lower Mainland auto crime prevention project is being expanded to the Okanagan for the first time, and is targeting the most stolen vehicle in British Columbia – Ford F-Series trucks.

ICBC’s Ford F-series immobilizer program offers a free electronic immobilizer up to the value of $175 (including installation and tax) to owners of F250 and F350 trucks (model years 1999-2007) in Kelowna, Penticton and Vernon. The program will also, once again, run in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.

“In addition to being the most stolen vehicle in our province, the average repair cost for a stolen Ford F-Series truck is more than twice that of the average stolen vehicle in B.C.,” says Nicolas Jimenez, ICBC’s director of Road Safety.

“Immobilizers are the best protection against auto theft – making a vehicle virtually impossible to steal – and we’re confident this project will help continue the downward trend in auto theft.”

Since 2003, auto theft reduction programs have contributed to a 55% drop in the number of stolen vehicles reported across the province.

Strategic initiatives, including the Bait Car program and community policing, have seen vehicle theft rates plummet year after year.

The popularity of Ford F-Series trucks among thieves has not diminished, however, and they continue to be used in conjunction with other criminal activity.

“Theft of Ford pickups is a significant public safety issue – thieves choose them because they are powerful, they know how to steal them and they are often used to commit other serious crimes,” says Sgt. Gord Elias of IMPACT, whose Bait Car fleet includes Ford F-Series trucks.

“Now we are targeting the thieves that steal these vehicles.”

Prior to a 2008 requirement making an immobilizer a mandatory piece of equipment in new vehicles, most F-series trucks were not protected, extremely easy to steal, and a prime target for theft.

Now, ICBC is working with local retailers in the Okanagan to offer a free, two-point electronic immobilizer to approximately 1,600 eligible customers in the highest-risk locations in the Okanagan.

Letters containing the offer and a voucher will be sent out to eligible customers in batches to minimize the impact on participating retailers.

For more information on anti-theft devices and optional insurance discounts, visit icbc.com.

Link: Link to ICBC website