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Theft from car.
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Hi
Are there any problems with theft from unattended vehicles in Ireland (North and South) I am a little worried about leaving my cameras (out of sight) when moving far from my car, I will not be staying in any big towns.Thank you :)
Don’t leave anything expensive in your car if possible. I left my car many times in the middle of nowhere, while taking photos and it was never broken into, but I’ve heard bad stories… mind you, my car was burglar deterrent to start with :)
I’ve heard stories about many parks in Northern Ireland, some of them have one way systems which allow thieves to watch cars coming in and allows for an easy get away. I’d keep the car as empty looking as possible if you are leaving it for any period of time, removing any rental car stickers (cars with no hub caps or alloy wheels are a dead giveaway) and if it’s a hatchback try and remove the boot cover so people can see there’s nothing inside. All that sounds a little paranoid (a little?!) but better than getting a nasty surprise! You can usually tell if it’s a black spot anyway by spotting glass on the ground or skidmarks.
Down south has blackspots too but possibly more random where in NI there are well known trouble spots for this kind of thing. In the 6 years I’ve been abandoning the car wherever it will fit across the country I’ve never had a single bit of trouble. I’m rarely at the hotspots though, mostly off the beaten track.
You could look to get something like this auto safe.
http://www.calumetphoto.co.uk/ctl?ac.ui.pn=search.Search&query=autosafeIt might just slow down the theif a bit.
I think common sense should prevail here…as stated do’nt leave anything valuable
in any car at any time…even in the boot…but I have to say that in my 20 odd years of
travelling around with my gear in the car , nothing has ever happened to anything…of
course I DO LIVE IN WATERFORD and we have’nt any thiefs down here at all ??
Again there are blackspots where as I said common sense should take over but when
tourists arrive over here they do’nt know where they are…Mahon Falls carpark in the
Comeragh Mts. was notorious for it till the Council put up a sign telling people that
unattended cars were being broken into and after that it seemed to fall away….but you
always hear the hard luck stories and most of the time you hear that people left gear
on the back seat etc, etc…you should assume that every time you leave your car no
matter where it is that there might be a chance that when you come back it might have
a broken window…so take EVERYTHING with you Vanannan but enjoy your stay over here.All the best.
Noel Browne.
I have never had any bother here either. Over the years of leaving the car in the
wilds for hours there has been no trouble.I actually earlier took my Manfrotto tripod out of the boot of my brothers car in a car
park in Birr, walked around the Demense for a couple of hours and on the way back
realised I didnt have my tripod anymore, ‘must have left it in the boot’Nope left it standing at the back of the car :oops: and headed off.
Checked in the Garda station and someone had left it in! happy days.
I thought it was gone for sure, but decent honest people are still in the majority here . . . still !I think your car could draw a slight bit more attention if it is a Yellow Registration plate
or if it is obvious it is a rented car . . . but I have no experience or proof that that is the case.Anyway as has been said play it safe with the valuables, and you will have a good stay.
If you are stopping in Galway for the volvo ocean race on the 30th you are welcome to meet
up with a few members from the site.Alan
We parked at Iron Bridge near Tinahely to do a stretch of the Wicklow Way. It’s an isolated area but there is a house nearby.
On our return we found my car and another had been broken into.
Mine had nothing on view but they stole the sat nav, mini binoculars etc etc.As they say you can’t carry everything with you.
In all my years of visiting Ireland and the last 10years of being resident, I have never had any worries about leaving my car with gear in it! Or for that matter any incedents.
Of course taking the usual precautions of not flashing gear around in inapropriate places is a neat trick.Relax and enjoy your stay!
I bought my first car about 9 years ago and within 3 weeks it had been broken into. I had left it in a line of cars next to a prominent hotel in Tramore not even considering it a dangerous place. Came out of the hotel the following morning to see that my car was the only one left in the area and the passenger door was peeled back, the steering column bent, the surrounds of the console pulled out and the ignition ripped apart. Funnily enough nothing was taken and I had a couple of grands worth of wet suits in the boot.
Take the advice above but in my experience it’s a rare occurrence down around Wexford.
Alan
I neglected to mention that we always have a dog in the car! That could be a help I guess!
Just thought of a great business opportunity……. Renting out dogs to nervous tourists!
I’ve been driving all over the place leaving my car in all sorts of areas while i’ve been here the last year and have never had any problems. Sure my little car probably tells would be thief’s that there isn’t anything worth taking, but as others have said a little common sense and you should be sweet as.
I would at least leave my gear in the boot, but preferably take it with me. A friend of mine was driving in Italy and had all his camera gear stolen from the back seat when he nipped off for a few minutes. Best to take care mate.
Hello again-
It’s a good question…
I’ve never had a problem,
but I do fret a lot if I leave a car unattended with gear in it-I suppose you should take the usual precautions-
leave nothing visible,
and don’t make it look as if the boot is overflowing…What format do you shoot?
Big gear can get very, well, big, and often there’s no option but to leave it in the car-Try to park in a very public place…
joseph
Alan…you had to tell that story about Tramore…did’nt you ???
They will love you down there for that.Noel.
brownie wrote:
Alan…you had to tell that story about Tramore…did’nt you ???
They will love you down there for that.Noel.
And I didn’t thank anyone in Tramore for the incident either – even the Gardai effectively said “Get over it”. I’ll bet you don’t know how much fun it is to try to deactivate an immobiliser with a dismantled ignition and drive to Wexford with a bent driving column when you’re only driving 3 weeks. Nope, definitely thanked no one in Tramore!
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