Speeding off (超速行驶) in a stolen car, the
thief thinks he has got a great catch. But he is in a nasty surprise. The car is
fitted with a remote immobilizer (使车辆不能调动的装置), and a radio signal from a control
center miles away will ensure that once the thief switches the engine {{U}}
{{U}} 1 {{/U}} {{/U}}, he will not be able to start it again. For
now, such devices {{U}} {{U}} 2 {{/U}} {{/U}}only available for
fleets of trucks and specialist vehicles used on construction sites. But remote
immobilization technology could soon start to trickle (慢慢地移动) down to ordinary
cars, and {{U}} {{U}} 3 {{/U}} {{/U}}be available to ordinary
cars in the UK {{U}} {{U}} 4 {{/U}} {{/U}}two months. The idea
goes like this. A control box fitted to the car incorporates {{U}} {{U}}
5 {{/U}} {{/U}}miniature cellphone (移动电话，手机), a microprocessor and
memory, and a GPS satellite positioning receiver. {{U}} {{U}} 6
{{/U}} {{/U}}the car is stolen, a coded cellphone signal will tell the unit to
block the vehicle's engine management system and prevent the engine {{U}}
{{U}} 7 {{/U}} {{/U}}restarted. There are even plans for
immobilizers {{U}} {{U}} 8 {{/U}} {{/U}}shut down vehicles on
the move, though there are fears over the safety implications of such a system.
In the UK, an array of technical fixes is already making {{U}} {{U}}
9 {{/U}} {{/U}}harder for car thieves. "The pattern of vehicles crime
has changed", says Martyn Randall of Thatcham, a security research organization
based in Berkshire that is funded in part {{U}} {{U}} 10
{{/U}} {{/U}}the motor insurance industry. He says it would only take him a
few minutes to {{U}} {{U}} 11 {{/U}} {{/U}}a novice (初学者) how to
steal a car, using a bare minimum of tools. But only if the car is more than 10
years old. Modern cars are a far tougher (艰苦的) proposition (任务), as their engine
management computer will not {{U}} {{U}} 12 {{/U}} {{/U}}them to
start unless they receive a unique ID code beamed out by the ignition (点火) key.
In the UK, technologies like this {{U}} {{U}} 13 {{/U}}
{{/U}}achieve a 31 percent drop in vehicle-related crime since 1997. But
determined criminals are still managing to find other ways to steal cars. Often
by getting hold of the owner's keys in a burglary (夜窃行为；盗窃). In 2000, 12 percent
of vehicles stolen in the UK were taken using the owner's keys double the
previous year's figure. Remote-controlled immobilization system would {{U}}
{{U}} 14 {{/U}} {{/U}}a major new obstacle in the criminal's way by
making such thefts pointless. A group that includes Thatcham, the police,
insurance companies and security technology firms have developed standards for a
system that could go on the market sooner than the {{U}} {{U}} 15
{{/U}} {{/U}}expects.