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Car Robber with Flashlight Looking Inside the Car. Car Security Theme.
The old, trusty steering wheel lock has come back into fashion following a spike in vehicle thefts across the nation.
Since 2025, following the heightened use of technology that bypasses start mechanisms in vehicles, consumers have become super savvy in protecting their pride and joy.
Google Trends shows a spike in searches for steering wheel locks, which correlates with an 11 per cent rise in vehicle thefts across the nation last year, according to the Insurance Council of Australia.
Dash cams are also increasingly popular as the most searched on Google, and they have uses in multiple scenarios such as unattended vehicle thefts, collisions, and potentially road rage incidents.
GPS trackers are second most searched and assist owners in finding their vehicle if stolen.
Car alarms have been on a steady decline in search popularity since 2004 and are uncommon enquiries at local retailer Repco.
Wangaratta Repco manager Brett Gunningham said they sell three different varieties of steering wheel locks, with a dozen of each, and it only takes about a month for them to sell out.
"We have the original style which is a single hook, there's a double hook, and then there's one that slots into the seatbelt buckle and you can lock it up as well," he said.
"Keyless start in vehicles seems to be an easy thing for thieves to target and there are on-board diagnostics (OBD) port protectors they have release now as well."
An OBD port protector is a physical security device that locks or blocks your car's diagnostic interface to prevent thieves from plugging in tools to reprogram keys or steal your vehicle.
Dashcams can be another form or deterrent, however, Mr Gunningham warned that if dashcams are only plugged into a cigarette lighter there is no security as they only work while the car is running.
He recommended people who have their dashcams to have them hardwired to the car battery which will assist in unoccupied vehicle damage.
With GPS trackers Mr Gunningham said they work well as long as the person who stole the car doesn't find it first.
This article uses Google Trends data to explore search interest in car security. Google Trends data is aggregated and anonymous. Search interest is measured on a relative scale and does not represent total search volume.
