One insurance company has spoken out to warn UK motorists to take extra care during the winter months so as to avoid falling victim to winter car crime. With the dark nights now upon us, car insurance company Swinton is offering advice to drivers in order to prevent more people being targeted by thieves during the winter months. Swinton carried out a survey of 1,200 of its online customers and found that despite the darker nights, a high percentage of people are failing to take extra precautions with 32% admitting to not parking in a well lit area, and 24% revealing that they leave their cars running while they defrost their car windscreens. A further 72% said they had left presents on the back seat of their car while out Christmas shopping. The aforementioned practices all raise your chances of being a victim of winter car crime. With extended hours of darkness, there’re more opportunities for thieves to commit crimes such as breaking into cars. To avoid putting yourself in harm’s way, take basic precautionary measures such as parking in well lit areas, and concealing or removing all valuables so as to not leave yourself open to opportunist thieves. Swinton also took the opportunity to remind drivers that leaving a car unlocked invalidates a car insurance policy, so it’s not advisable to defrost a car windscreen while the car is open with the keys in the ignition.