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Texas Insurance Regulators: New Year’s Day Is No. 1 Holiday for Vehicle Thefts

The Texas Department of Insurance is urging vehicle owners to lock their car doors and turn on alarms while they ring in the new year in order to prevent auto thefts.

TDI said in a media release that a report issued in October by the National Insurance Crime Bureau shows that more cars and trucks are stolen on New Year’s Day than any other holiday. The report looked at vehicle thefts in 2018.

“The report doesn’t speculate on what makes New Year’s Day attractive to car thieves,” TDI fraud analyst Krystal Kulle said in the release. “But midnight January 1 is probably a time when people are celebrating the new year and not out on the street.”

California was the state with the most holiday vehicle thefts in 2018 with 4,797, according to the NICB. It was followed by, in descending order, Texas (2,144), Florida (1,322), Washington (819) and Georgia (778).

The 2018 holidays ranked by NICB according to the number of vehicle thefts are:

1. New Year’s Day (2,571)
2. Presidents’ Day (2,380)
3. Halloween (2,275)
4. Labor Day (2,235)
5. Memorial Day (2,167)
6. New Year’s Eve (2,122)
7. Independence Day (2,071)
8. Valentine’s Day (2,001)
9. Christmas Eve (1,912)
10. Thanksgiving (1,698)
11. Christmas Day (1,447)

TDI offered the following theft-prevention measures to vehicle owners:

• Never leave your keys in the car.
• Lock doors and close windows.
• Park in a well-lit area.
• Don’t leave valuables in plain sight.
• If you have an alarm, use it.

Source: TDI, NICB