The U.N. have warned there are four main ways of having your car stolen:

1) A motorcyclist pulls up alongside your car and draws a gun on you.

2) The thief strikes as you are parking your car.

3) You are challenged at a filling station.

4) The car is taken from outside your house.

One official said to remember a bullet travels through a car as if it were paper

and he advised drivers to weigh up their chances if confronted by a gun.

He offered the following preventative measures:

Try not to drive alone. If followed, drive to a police station or safe place.

Inform your house guard, at a pre-arranged signal such as the sound of a horn, to

open and close the gates behind you as quickly as possible.

This saves you having to get out of the car on the street, as well as speeding up

your entry. Always keep the engine running in case you have to make a quick exit.

When turning into your yard from the other side of the road, do not pull into the

curb to give way to any on-coming traffic or any behind you.

It could give a potential robber the opportunity to block your path and hold you

up.

Always turn into the middle of the road and swing into the drive. If a vehicle tries

to overtake, drive away.

At a gas station, be alert the whole time. If you are approached by anyone other

than the petrol attendants, drive off.

When you are not in your car use an anti-theft device, such as a Krooklock, an alarm

or a new devise that automatically switches off the car from a distance.

Restrict the access of car keys to people you can trust. If the car is being repaired

make certain that the keys are with a responsible person, since they can easily be

duplicated.

Be courteous on the road and do not provoke other motorists because some carry guns.