The car thief tried to steal my car, but an unexpected detail stopped them – this was once an everyday feature

A DRIVER said she had a frightening moment when a teenager violently stole her vehicle.

But the would-be thief only managed to drive one block because the car’s characteristics were so confusing.

two

Mary Sampietro was driving her 2016 Jeep Patriot SUV in Houston, Texas, when the scary incident occurred, according to Wall Street Journal.

She rolled down the window to smoke a cigarette.

Then, moments later, a teenage girl holding a gun to her face told the driver to get out of the vehicle.

The thief fled with the car for a block before the vehicle stopped.

“I was like, ‘How can you be a car thief and not know how to drive a manual?’” Sampietro asked.

The near-robbery wasn’t the first time she encountered a teenager who didn’t know how to drive.

Sampietro said her husband travels a lot — she often attends events where she relies on valets for parking.

Some cases did not go well, including an event at a hotel.

“This young man messed with me in a way that made me want to vomit,” she said.

“I turned around, parked on the same street and walked. I didn’t tip.”

Automatic transmissions are increasingly popular in the US.

By 2024, less than 1% of new vehicle sales include vehicles with manual transmissions.

The trend leaves Sampietro among a dying breed of American drivers capable of operating a gear selector and clutch.

It has also created a problem for restaurants and hotels with valet offerings.

Jaden Lamar, a 24-year-old who co-owns a luxury parking service in Atlanta, Georgia called Lux ​​Valet, said he was burned by an employee who claimed to know how to drive a manual.

How to prevent vehicle theft

Here are 10 ways to prevent your car from being stolen, according to one car insurance company:

1. Lock your doors. This makes it more difficult for thieves to access anything inside the vehicle.
2. Keep your keys with you. With smart keys and remote controls, a car can be unlocked if the key is nearby. If the key is inside or with you, it cannot be unlocked.
3. Don’t leave the spare key near the vehicle, as thieves know to look for it in common places, such as the wheel well, under items in the garage or in the glove compartment.
4. Keep windows closed. If a window is open, thieves can unlock the doors manually.
5. Park in well-lit areas as this helps deter thieves if their actions are visible to passersby.
6. If your vehicle doesn’t have one, consider an anti-theft alarm system.
7. If you live in a high-crime area, consider an immobilizer device that utilizes a kill switch if the device does not recognize an authorized key.
8. Consider a tracking device so you can control the location of your vehicle if it is stolen.
9. Never leave valuables in the car, especially in a visible place. Thieves know to look for valuables in the floorboards, passenger or back seats.
10. Check before leaving the vehicle that it is safe.

Source: Allstate Auto Insurance

But when a customer asked him to park his car with a stick, the young employee also burned the clutch.

Odors from the destroyed clutch filled the restaurant, Lamar said.

“They were diverting us,” he told the publication.

A general distrust was heightened by the smell of burning clutches, said Ricardo Salazar, a parking professional with years of manual transmission experience.

Salazar said drivers often need reassurance that they can drive their cars correctly. “They always ask,” he said.

Salazar, an immigrant who settled in New Jersey, said American drivers are different from those where he grew up.

“In this country, everyone drives an automatic,” he said.

“In my country, 99% of cars are manual.”