Lifelong resident John Parry urges drivers to take extra safety steps to stop stolen car crashes

A former Townsville speedway driver is urging people to go an extra step in preventing car thefts after a collision with a stolen car left him with a costly repair bill.

A former Townsville speedway driver is urging people to go an extra step in preventing car thefts after a collision with a stolen car left him with a costly repair bill.

John Parry, a lifelong resident, says the speedway racetrack in the 1960s had nothing on the speed and danger he has witnessed in recent years.

“It’s very frustrating and it’s become more vicious. There used to be robberies and stolen cars, but it was nothing like it is now,” he said.

Mr Parry had stopped at a Charters Towers road intersection while on an evening drive with his wife Cheryl recently, when they heard police sirens.

He moved the car to the centre island to allow the police to pass when a car roared up behind them and hit their rear bumper and scraped the sidepanel before speeding off.

Mr Parry’s car, which has a broken tail-light and superficial damage due to a stolen car.

“Two police cars drove past us, so I fell in behind them and one of them got out and took our details,” Mr Parry said.
“I asked them if it was a chase, but they were actually headed to a job in Condon. The guy behind us had heard the sirens and panicked.”

Police said the car that collided with them was stolen but the couple will have to contend with a $750 excess.

“We don’t have the money for it. We live from pension to pension, our next grocery bill is probably coming out of the overdraft now.”

Mr Parry is happy he and his wife escaped without injury but said a $200 upgrade to the stolen car could have stopped the incident.

Mr Parry says he’s already taken the liberty of installing a number of security features at his home, as well as an engine immobiliser in his car. Picture: Evan Morgan

That’s the price tag associated with an engine immobilising device which Mr Parry has installed in his own car. It prevents anyone without knowledge of its operation from starting the vehicle, whether they have the keys or not.

“I would tell anyone who has a car to … put an immobiliser in it,” he said.

Mr Parry lives in Currajong, and says he decided to pay for the immobiliser after April’s horror crash that saw four children killed on Bayswater Road.

“When we saw those children killed, I decided to get it put in. All I could think was that I didn’t want someone to be killed by my car if it was stolen.”

Originally published as Lifelong resident John Parry urges drivers to take extra safety steps to stop stolen car crashes