If you park your car outside overnight, odds are, you let it warm up in the morning. But area police have a message for you. Â
"What we see is a lot of crimes of opportunity," said Lt. Chad Hawkins with the Sparks Police Department. "Where people leave their cars running and they believe they're going to run into the house, that's when somebody walks by sees the car running, hops in and takes off."Â
The Sparks Police Department says they see more vehicle thefts when the winter months roll around because of this reason. Hawkins says it only takes a matter of seconds for a thief to hop in your car and drive off.
In an East Reno neighborhood, we found nearly a dozen cars warming up unattended. We talked to the owners who said they feel mostly comfortable with leaving them running.Â
"The neighborhood is pretty good," said Alyssa Russel. "We know all of our neighbors. Everyone looks out for each other." Â
"I come out and start it," said Chelsea Meyer. "If it's like super cold and it's taking a long time then I go back inside and let it warm up, get in. It's nice and toasty."Â
Both Meyer and Russel admit to leaving their car while it warms up for upwards of 15 minutes. Mechanics say it only takes about 10 seconds for a car engine to warm up before you can drive it.Â
