MONTREAL - Quebec, a province once known for its high-rate of car thefts, appears uninterested in defending its reputation for gone-in-30-seconds hot-wiring jobs.
Car thefts have plummeted by 64 percent in Quebec since 2002, according to a study released Tuesday by the Automobile Insurers Group.
The overall provincial rate was just 0.20, with the highest rates being 0.48 percent in Laval Lanaudiere and west of Montreal.
However the value of stolen cars in such places as Northern Quebec, Abitibi and the North Shore averaged around $20,000 as opposed to $13,649 for the hot wheels in the rest of the province.
The study also showed that theft diminishes with age, among both men and women until age 65, when it rises slightly.
The trend has helped pocketbooks as well, as insurance premiums have diminished by 10 percent since 2005, according to the report.
Quebec has Canada’s lowest auto insurance rates, with an average of $720 per year, as opposed to $1,482 in Ontario.
-With a file from The Canadian Press
