WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Car thefts are at a 20-year low even though there are twice as many vehicles on America's roads, statistics show.
The FBI reports 956,846 vehicles were snatched in 2008, less than half the number stolen in 1991 when there were 1.6 million car thefts, even though there are 245 million vehicles on the road now, USA Today said.
Most of the reduction is credited to manufacturers installing cutting-edge anti-theft systems in new cars, and to police efforts to target organized car-theft rings.
"It's a much tougher job to be a car thief today," said Russ Rader, spokesman for Highway Loss Data Institute. "The technology in new vehicles makes it much harder to make off with a car."
Most new cars now feature an ignition immobilizer -- an electronic feature that blocks the engine from starting without the owner's key. Other theft-prevention technologies, like alarm systems and global positioning system tracking devices that help locate a stolen vehicle, have helped to reduce the theft numbers.
