New pukka anti-theft scheme by MCIA and Datatag

[Stripey]

JamesH87 (25/07/2012)

Good idea.

Another idea, though not likely to happen due to the cost implications, would be if parking bays had something to chain your bike too, not necessarily individual ground anchors, but perhaps a bar across the whole bay. I bet that would have a massive impact on reducing thefts from on-road parking bays.

Too right, if they sunk as much money into securing the bike bays with a simple bar as they have in installing secure cycle stands all over london in the past few years it would make a massive difference. I know they are heavy but most people would carry a chain of some sort when commuting if they knew that the bay they would end up in had something to attach it to. There are a few near me where the bar extends out into the edge of the road so you back tyre rests on it and so you only need a really short chain.

The police often sit under the bridge by Mansell street offering free UV marking to cyclists. If the industry really wanted to stop this they really need to extend it to used bikes too.

Having said all that, this is at least a good step in the right direction. Anything that is worth thousands of pounds that two people can pick up and stick in a van is always going to be a target when left in the street. What we need is a Combination of all these things so the gangs are forced to find a softer target…

[Mutley10]

The insurance industry won’t come in because in a heightened ‘culture of fear’ they can charge what they like to insure. In a recession, fewer people take out insurance overall (life, health, household etc), so the firms dig around for their own soft targets for re-gaining profitable revenue streams.

Bikers are an easy target - we’re passionate and bedevilled by the need to ride around. We’ll move hell and earth to arrange a track day. In the end, we’ll pay whatever it takes to get the insurance.

The best way to deal with the insurance firms is (1) secure your bike as completely as possible - so that overall, thefts reduce; (2) bargain very, very hard with them on the cost - do not take it lying down, call around and play them off eachother, even take out non-comprehensive and lay the bike up (securely) until you can get a better deal; (3) basically do everything as a community to deny them revenues.

Eventually, they’ll find the cost of paying for stolen bikes is so much that they will stop relying on simply upping policy prices, but start looking at how to reduce the cost side of their profit equation.

That would mean full-on insurance industry associations coming together to protect their profits (or reduce their losses), and they can do that by cutting internal headcount, or helping to prevent bike thefts.

btw apologies - I saw the article on the homepage before I read the first post here, and I did gob off. Sorry. But they do deserve it.

Make sure to keep an eye on other bikes; pay attention to alarms and just have a peek to see what’s going on; lock up securely (Almax really!); fit a BikeTrac; or simply buy a “Tracker Prime”.

If we can reduce the revenue the criminal gangs make off bike theft, they will turn their attention elsewhere. Since we can’t control their sale prices, we must as a community reduce their supply of stolen bikes.

One more suggestion: Make it a political issue. At election time - local or national, whatever - we should all come together and push the issue into the limelight - do this by forcing everyone to realise that the thieves don’t only steal bikes, they simply steal. Anything. They’re thieves, dealers, burglars, muggers, trainees, scouts - they get in young and see easy money (which actually ends up being peanuts to the majority - but hey, they’re ‘in the gang’)