Prevent theft?

What would law enforcement advise? I’m guessing:

1. get good insurance
2. Hand them the keys without any push back

 

Don't worry about it and give them the keys unless you already put the baby in the car seat.

 

1a. How often do thieves come right back? This sounds more like (scare mongering) ^ squared.
1b. While calling police, you don't have to leave yourself exposed to further victimization. Call from a safer place.
2. Thieves and other crooks fleeing from crime scenes or from police are commonly already speeding, driving recklessly, and endangering innocents. Stalling their vehicle in the road isn't really adding to that risk.

1. Rethink that. The first place to run should be to any sort of immediate cover. Then think about getting to a neighbor or store or crowd.
2. No, the thieves "demanded" the keys. At that stage, the victim still had multiple choices, including throwing the keys in the opposite direction she might intend to flee. Or some other diversion.
3. A great majority of them do just want the car. The fact that they didn't preemptively shoot her, adds to that presumption.
4. The Prius engine control is entirely throttle-by-wire, so the ECUs can easily limit RPM to safe levels. We have seen plenty of discussion here that drivers simply cannot over-rev the engine, because the computers protect it. The thieves may be leaving crash damage, but not engine damage.

The first several I find all say 'give up the car', but none say it as 'hand over the keys'. That leaves multiple choices in just how to give up the car or keys. I'd prefer to drop them, toss them, even slide them under the car, before engaging in a simple handover. Anything to divert, distract, delay or make them work harder, creating more opportunity to escape or find cover.

I've found that individual line officers very often have different opinions than the official liability-limiting public positions of their area's largest law enforcement agencies. And like the general public itself, those individual police opinions spread across a very wide gamut.

 

Keep VIN and plate no on a card in wallet/purse, or on your phone?

 

I keep physical insurance cards in my wallet as well as in the car (the law doesn't care where, just as long as it is available to an officer pulling you over), and this card shows the VIN. It is also now legal here to have a virtual proof of insurance on one's smartphone, and my insurance company is among those that provide an app for that.

Plate numbers? I'm still young enough to memorize the household's plates, though my list of memorized friend's plates is very drastically shorter than three or four decades ago.

These days, patrol officers and their dispatchers are sufficiently well connected electronically that it shouldn't take much of one's personal information for them to retrieve the rest.

 

1a.
I don't know how many times thieves comes back. I just want them far away not have a stalled car a couple blocks away. Sounds like you have no fear.
1b.
I think I will be at a safer place nearby especially if I'm on foot.
1.
Why rethink? Just think once and go where it is safe?
2.
A stalled car on the freeway is a safety hazard. If you do not agree with this, we can disagree.
1.
Yes, the keys are handed over to the thieves which is what I have been trained at work. Don't antagonize thieves. Give them what they want. Things can be replaced, people cannot. Sounds like you have no fear squared.
3. Yes, a great majority do just want the car. Hence, give it to them and let them drive away.
4.
Nearly all cars sold today have rev limiters and are drive by wire like a Prius. Why even argue this? If you are right then there is no reason to fear this. No fear cubed?

 

2G still exists in numerous places -- outside the U.S.

But apparently, after repeated sunset extensions, there is still some 2G here in the U.S. for a few more months:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2G#Phase-out

 

Maybe not in our lifetimes.

Imagine a self driving car. You use an app. Select the car stolen option. The doors lock and the car drives to the nearest police station