Approximately 12,950 vans were stolen in the UK in 2023, representing an 18% increase on 2022’s figures, while car thefts rose by 5% to 64,087. As a fleet manager or operator, you know first-hand about the importance of enhancing vehicle security wherever and whenever you can. Remote immobilisation is an effective way to prevent thieves from making off with your vehicles.
Find out how remote vehicle immobilisation works, the benefits it offers, how it can help in various situations, how to choose and implement the right system for your needs, and its potential limitations.
How Remote Immobilisation Works
At Crystal Ball, remote immobilisation is an optional add-on feature of our Thatcham Tracker S5. With the S5+ Thatcham Tracker, the vehicle immobilisation system is linked to the driver identification feature.
This vehicle anti-theft device is a reliable way of preventing your vehicles from being stolen or preventing thieves from getting too far if they do manage to start your car before you can immobilise it remotely. The fleet tracking device is connected to the vehicle’s engine management system and to the Crystal Ball app, which you can download and install on your Android or iOS device.
If a would-be thief tampers with your vehicle, the tracking device will send a notification to you via the app, which will give you the option of immobilising the vehicle. If you choose to immobilise it, the tracking system will send a signal to the engine management system, which will prevent the engine from being started or, if the thief managed to start the vehicle, from being restarted when it’s next turned off.
Our Thatcham S5+ tracker’s vehicle immobilisation feature works differently. In this case, the immobilisation function is linked to the Driver ID feature. If the driver does not apply their uniquely coded dallas key to the vehicle before the ignition activates, the system will immobilise the vehicle automatically.
Benefits of Remote Immobilisation
The theft of even one fleet vehicle can have a severely negative impact on your organisation’s productivity, revenue, and insurance premiums, and it can affect your customers’ confidence in your fleet’s security. Adding remote immobilisation to your fleet’s vehicles offers a few different benefits. These include:
Enhanced vehicle security: Remote vehicle immobilisation adds an additional security system to your fleet vehicles by making it more difficult for thieves to get away with them or to get very far with them. If you choose a vehicle anti-theft device with remote immobilisation and immobilisation connected to driver identification, your vehicles will benefit from two additional security measures.
Improved stolen vehicle recovery rates: Installing vehicle safety devices with remote vehicle immobilisation and GPS tracking increases the chances of recovering your cars and vans from where they were taken if they are stolen. Thatcham Trackers with immobilisation features have a vehicle recovery rate greater than 96%.
Reduced insurance premiums: Some insurance providers offer discounted insurance premiums to businesses that install anti-theft vehicle devices with GPS tracking and a remote vehicle immobilisation system.
Remote Immobilisation in Different Situations
Remote immobilisation’s applications go beyond enhancing the security of your fleet’s vehicles. It can also be helpful in a variety of other situations.
If you hire a vehicle out to someone who fails to pay for it, you can use this feature to prevent further use of the vehicle until they make a payment. You can also use remote vehicle immobilisation to prevent them from using the vehicle if they do not return it on the agreed-upon date.
This vehicle safety device can also come in handy if your employees use company cars and vans that are limited to geofenced areas outside of working hours or if they use company vehicles without authorisation. If you receive notification of unauthorised use of your vehicle or of vehicles leaving geofence boundaries, you can use remote immobilisation to prevent further use of those vehicles.
Choosing and Implementing Remote Immobilisation Technology
There are a number of factors to consider when choosing an anti-theft vehicle device with remote immobilisation for your fleet. These factors include:
Your business’ needs: Take your business’ daily tasks and objectives into account, as some tracking system features might be essential while others might not be required.
Fleet size and vehicle types: If you have a small business with a small fleet, a vehicle safety system with less advanced features might be more cost-effective, but if you have a large fleet of cars, vans, and HGVs, a more advanced system might be more helpful.
Vehicle immobilisation system installation: Your choice of vehicle anti-theft system might be influenced depending on whether the system you choose must be installed by approved engineers or whether your own technicians can do it.
At Crystal Ball, we recommend that tracking systems with remote immobilisation are installed by Thatcham-approved engineers. Located nationwide, approved engineers will install the remote immobiliser at the same time as the tracking system. They will connect the vehicle circuitry required to start the engine to the device and remote immobiliser and ensure that everything is in working order.
Potential Challenges and Limitations
It’s important to note that remote vehicle immobilisation systems come with potential challenges and limitations. While they certainly enhance the security of your vehicles, they cannot prevent someone from breaking into your cars and vans. If your tracking device doesn’t have Driver ID immobilisation, there is a chance that thieves can start the vehicle and make off with it, especially if you do not respond to the tampering notification and remote immobilisation option immediately.
If a thief does manage to start a vehicle and drive off with it, and you try to arm the immobilisation feature, the activation will queue until the vehicle has stopped and the ignition has been turned off. This is to prevent accidents or collisions that could damage your vehicle or lead to loss of life.
Given these challenges and limitations, it’s important to integrate your vehicle safety systems with other security measures such as a gear lock, steering wheel lock, and alarm system for comprehensive protection.
Remote Immobilisation for Every Fleet, Big or Small
Remote immobilisation is an excellent tracking system feature to boost the security of your fleet, increase the chances of stolen vehicle recovery, and potentially reduce your insurance premiums. Use this information to choose a Crystal Ball vehicle immobilisation system for your vehicles and enjoy greater peace of mind.