{"id":3355,"date":"2026-07-02T09:18:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T13:18:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swflroads.com\/d1safety\/?p=3355"},"modified":"2026-07-02T09:24:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T13:24:30","slug":"july-is-national-vehicle-theft-prevention-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swflroads.com\/d1safety\/news\/july-is-national-vehicle-theft-prevention-month\/","title":{"rendered":"July is Vehicle Theft Prevention Month"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>July is National Vehicle Theft Prevention Month<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-bm=\"37\"><strong class=\"frg-ins2\">National Vehicle Theft Prevention Month is observed from July 1\u201331, 2026, with the U.S. Department of Transportation\u2019s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) leading awareness efforts to reduce motor vehicle theft.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"frg-ins3\">Why It Matters<\/h2>\n<p>In 2025,\u00a0<strong class=\"frg-ins4\">over 650,000 vehicles were stolen in the United States<\/strong>, with a vehicle stolen roughly every 48 seconds. \u00a0Summer months, including July, see the highest theft rates, making prevention efforts especially important.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"frg-ins5\">Key Prevention Tips<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"frg-ins6\">NHTSA and local public safety agencies recommend:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong class=\"frg-ins7\">Lock it or lose it<\/strong> \u2014 Always lock all doors and windows, even for short trips<\/li>\n<li data-bm=\"38\"><strong class=\"frg-ins8\">Remove valuables<\/strong> \u2014 Phones, bags, tools, and loose change can attract thieves; keep them hidden<\/li>\n<li><strong class=\"frg-ins9\">Key fob awareness<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 Avoid leaving key fobs near doors; consider signal-blocking pouches for keyless entry systems<\/li>\n<li><strong class=\"frg-ins10\">Park in well-lit areas<\/strong> \u2014 Visibility deters theft<\/li>\n<li><strong class=\"frg-ins11\">Hide valuables inside<\/strong> \u2014 Avoid leaving items visible from outside the vehicle<\/li>\n<li><strong class=\"frg-ins12\">Do not leave the area<\/strong> while the vehicle is running. It only takes seconds to steal a vehicle.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"frg-ins13\" data-bm=\"39\">Anti-Theft Devices<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"frg-ins14\">Consider adding protection if your vehicle lacks built-in systems:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong class=\"frg-ins15\">Audible\/visible deterrents<\/strong> (alarms, steering wheel locks, flashing lights)<\/li>\n<li data-bm=\"40\"><strong class=\"frg-ins16\">Immobilizing devices<\/strong> that prevent hot-wiring or bypassing ignition systems<\/li>\n<li><strong class=\"frg-ins17\">Recovery systems<\/strong> that help law enforcement locate stolen vehicles<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"frg-ins18\" data-bm=\"41\">If Your Vehicle Is Stolen<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong class=\"frg-ins19\">Contact police immediately<\/strong> to file a stolen-vehicle report<\/li>\n<li data-bm=\"42\"><span class=\"frg-ins20\">Provide details about the vehicle, including any anti-theft devices installed.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"frg-ins21\">Resources<\/h2>\n<p data-bm=\"43\">For more information, visit the NHTSA Vehicle Theft Prevention page:<\/p>\n<p data-bm=\"43\"><a class=\"frg-ins22\" tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bing.com\/ck\/a?!&amp;&amp;p=ddea35c2ecbce24789b4412e850d84fba621f6be397f4a5307abffa99512e31cJmltdHM9MTc4Mjk1MDQwMA&amp;ptn=3&amp;ver=2&amp;hsh=4&amp;fclid=3e048660-5925-6c46-10d9-9037585a6d17&amp;u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmh0c2EuZ292L3ZlaGljbGUtc2FmZXR5L3ZlaGljbGUtdGhlZnQtcHJldmVudGlvbg&amp;ntb=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NHTSA.gov\/VehicleTheftPrevention<\/a>\u00a0<a class=\"md_citlink\" tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bing.com\/ck\/a?!&amp;&amp;p=ddea35c2ecbce24789b4412e850d84fba621f6be397f4a5307abffa99512e31cJmltdHM9MTc4Mjk1MDQwMA&amp;ptn=3&amp;ver=2&amp;hsh=4&amp;fclid=3e048660-5925-6c46-10d9-9037585a6d17&amp;u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmh0c2EuZ292L3ZlaGljbGUtc2FmZXR5L3ZlaGljbGUtdGhlZnQtcHJldmVudGlvbg&amp;ntb=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-sups=\"2\" data-hover-id=\"14\">NHTSA<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>July is National Vehicle Theft Prevention Month National Vehicle Theft Prevention Month is observed from July 1\u201331, 2026, with the U.S. Department of Transportation\u2019s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) leading awareness efforts to reduce motor vehicle theft. Why It Matters In 2025,\u00a0over 650,000 vehicles were stolen in the United States, with a vehicle stolen&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3356,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"post_series":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swflroads.com\/d1safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3355"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swflroads.com\/d1safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swflroads.com\/d1safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swflroads.com\/d1safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swflroads.com\/d1safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3355"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.swflroads.com\/d1safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3355\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3360,"href":"https:\/\/www.swflroads.com\/d1safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3355\/revisions\/3360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swflroads.com\/d1safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swflroads.com\/d1safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swflroads.com\/d1safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swflroads.com\/d1safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3355"},{"taxonomy":"post_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swflroads.com\/d1safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_series?post=3355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}