I strongly agree with Mr Edwin Han Vee-Kwang that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) should do away with having motorists insert CashCards into in-vehicle units (IUs).

But I completely disagree with his thinking that it is all right to continue to use the cover on the IU while the LTA comes up with a trouble-free solution.

This issue is not just about individual cars having their windscreens smashed. Police manpower and resources should not be diverted from more important national security concerns to combat and investigate such IU-CashCard thefts.

This crime of smashing car windscreens to steal CashCards is one of the most preventable. If the police do not disagree with my view, I hope that they will discourage motorists from using such covers on their IUs and enlist the help of carpark managements to do so. And also dissuade car distributors, the Automobile Association, etc, from giving them as gifts. 'Crime Watch' should also highlight this matter.

Contrary to what Mr Han said that using the cover would 'create uncertainty in the mind of the potential thief', the high number of the 22 cars that had covers (as visible from the TV newsclips) seemed to indicate to me that the thief targeted those cars with covers. It takes more time to check whether those without covers had CashCards inserted. Perhaps it was also easier to hook and pull out an IU with cover using his spear tool than one without the cover.

Very soon, most motorists will forget about these 22 car-smashing incidents and more of such thefts will occur unless the opportunities for 'free' CashCards are drastically lessened by more motorists choosing not to use these covers.

Motorists should do their part by stopping the use of such covers but the long-term solution is for the LTA to quickly change the status quo; instead the LTA should use a debit system of charging ERP fees and bill motorists on a monthly basis in place of the current CashCard-in-IU system.

This problem will get worse with the increasing use of CashCards not only for ERP charges but also at carparks. Because of this, the average stored value in CashCards will keep increasing, perhaps about $40 nowadays (52 CashCards with a total of $2,014 stored value were reported stolen from unlocked cars parked in landed properties last October).

To allay the concerns of motorists that the IUs may fail from frequent insertion and withdrawal of the CashCards, the LTA should extend the warranty of IUs against manufacturer's defect from five years to 10 years (the tenure of COEs).

The debit system will also eliminate the fear of forgetting to put in CashCards into IUs (which is the main reason why most motorists prefer not to take out the CashCards from the IUs). More importantly, it will reduce the chance of vehicles suddenly stopping just before ERP gantries (when drivers suddenly realised that they have forgotten to insert cards) and causing collisions.

I did a quick survey at the multi-storey carpark (MSCP) near my workplace during lunch break for one week after the 22 windscreen-smashing incidents. This was what I found about the IUs of 100 cars parked contiguously.

Number with lids closed/lowered: 57

Number with lids lifted (a few with the CashCards in the IUs): 10

Number without covers but cards inserted: 14

Number without covers and no cards inserted: 19

These figures clearly show how prevalent the use of covers on IUs is. This continues to occur in most MSCPs in HDB estates also as most drivers are not aware of the risks. And very soon most motorists would have forgotten about that sensational crime spate during Chinese New Year. So there is a 'gold mine' waiting for would-be CashCard thieves.

Motorists, including Mr Han, have the choice of what to do about the IU covers. I hope that they will do the right thing instead of being complacent, or use the covers mainly for convenience or following the majority.

As for me and my family, we would rather not deceive ourselves into thinking that thieves can be fooled into believing that there is no CashCard under that cover.

Ong Hong Bee