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Six out of ten motorists are so nervous about being carjacked, they lock their doors when driving through built up areas at least some of the time. This is one of the surprising statistics on attitudes to car crime revealed by Admiral in its forthcoming Annual Survey of British Motorists.

The car insurance expert surveyed over 2,500 motorists and found that despite a fall in car crime in recent years, as a nation we are as worried as ever about it. 80% of the people surveyed said they worry about their car being stolen or broken into.

Motorists in Northern Ireland and Yorkshire are the most concerned about car crime. 88% in Northern Ireland and 83% in Yorkshire said they worry about their car being stolen or broken into. This compares with 71% in the South West and 73% in Scotland, the parts of the UK where motorists are least concerned.

But it is the statistics on car jacking that is most startling. While 30% of the motorists Admiral surveyed said they worry about being carjacked while driving, double that said they lock their doors when driving as a precaution at least some of the time.

Perhaps not surprisingly people in London are the most likely to do this, with 69% of motorists in the capital saying they lock their doors while driving. But it's not only Londoners who take this precaution, the same number of motorists in the North West and Northern Ireland also lock their doors.

Admiral managing director, Sue Longthorn, said, "The reality of car crime suggests the people we surveyed are being over cautious. Car jacking is an extremely rare crime. In the last year we have only had five cases reported to us."

Admiral's report shows that 19% of motorists have had their car stolen and 44% broken into at sometime. However in the last year only 2% have had their car stolen and 8% have had it broken into.

Slightly more women than men have had their car broken into in the last year; 9% of women compared with 6% of men. While when it comes to where victims of car crime live, 15% of Londoners have had their car stolen or broken into this year, putting them at the top of the list. They are followed by those in the North West and South West of England, both on 12%.

The perception of the people Admiral surveyed is that car crime is rising or remains at the same level, 37% said they thought it had increased over the last twelve months, 36% said it had stayed the same, but only 9% said they think it has decreased.

Sue Longthorn, said, "The good news is that car crime on the whole has been falling for several years. Better vehicle security and the falling value of cars has led to fewer cars being stolen, although opportunist smash and grabs, where the thieves steal personal items left on show in the car, have stayed level. These are the crimes that really are preventable by not leaving anything on show to tempt the thieves."

Admiral's Annual Survey of British Motorists was conducted by YouGov in July 2008. The total sample size was 2,667 adults. The survey was carried out online.

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