Britain’s Motorists Regularly Leave Valuables in Cars Overnight

A poll of 2000 British motorists revealed they regularly leave an astonishing 3.2 billion pounds (approximately $5 billion) worth of belongings in their cars overnight, according to new research from Your Cover car insurance, part of Allianz Insurance.

Research showed that despite the ever present risk of car crime, motorists appear to be content to leave expensive items in their cars and hope the vehicle will not be broken into while they sleep.

According to the survey, the most common high value items left in unattended cars overnight include:

Portable sat navs

MP3 players

Golf clubs

Mobile phones

Sunglasses

Cameras

Handbags

Wallets

DVD players

Jewelry

The report also identified some of the more ‘unusual’ items people leave in their cars which include:

A spare set of false teeth

A dead hamster’s ashes for good luck

Ketchup

Sewing machine

Air beds

Vacuum cleaners

Board games – presumably to play in traffic jams

Male and Female Variations

The most popular items women keep in their cars are makeup and spare shoes. For men, it’s sports and car equipment.

1 in 3 women compared to 1 in 4 men confess that they consider their cars to be a ‘dumping ground’ for things they did not want to keep in the house. Nearly half the survey sample admitted they had not sorted out the contents of their car in the last 12 months.

SOURCE Allianz Insurance