Almost One In Five Irish Motorists Are Guilty Of This Bad Habit

According to a new survey, a staggering amount of Irish motorists are guilty of this one habit that could increase the risk of car theft.

AA Car Insurance conducted a survey on car theft and found that almost one in five Irish motorists admit to leaving valuable items on show in their car on an occasional basis.

Leaving items such as wallets, phones or handbags visible in your car can increase the risk of your car being broken into.

Almost one in five of those surveyed said they regularly left valuable items exposed - 2.62% said they did daily, 11.22% said they did it seldom and 34.87% admit they do it on rare occasions.

Other common habits that increase the risk of theft included motorists neglecting to lock their car when leaving it unattended or topping up at the petrol station, 16.11% of respondents said they leave their car regularly unlocked.

The survey also found that just under 40% of Irish motorists surveyed also admitted that they store their car keys in common places that could easily be found by a burglar.

Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs warned drivers that break-ins are more common around this Christmas season.

He said, "As we move into the winter season the risk of both car and home break-ins heightens compared to the summer months, particularly from early-December where Christmas presents may be hidden in your home or car.

"For this reason it’s important that we all exercise additional caution in the coming weeks and months when leaving our cars unattended and that, in particular, we’re cautious about leaving any items of value visible when parking your car anywhere, even if you’re just running into a shop for two minutes."