The Slatest

At Least 44,000 Cars Were Stolen Last Year Because Doofus Drivers Left the Keys in Them

A 2013 Honda Accord. The Accord is the car model most frequently stolen in the United States. Lock your Accords!

Bull-Doser/Wikipedia

Bloomberg reports that the number of car thefts in the United States has declined in recent years, perhaps because of security devices such as smart keys. But while keys may be getting smarter, it appears that Americans in general are getting dumber, as evidenced by an increase in the number of vehicles that are being stolen after drivers simply leave their keys inside their cars and walk away:

U.S. car thefts with keys left inside jumped 14 percent from 2012 to 2014, reaching 44,828 last year, according to a study issued Monday by the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The actual number is probably higher because some people don’t admit their carelessness to police or their insurer, the NICB said.

What are you doing, you dummies? Put your keys in your pocket!