September 23rd, 2004
Take this quick 4-question survey.
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Two points:
- I may have actually hit upon an opinion that is mostly shared by everyone. Oops. I'll try harder to not conform in the future.
- This Rant is directed at urban dwellers with car alarms; though I am far from convinced, I am open to the possibility that suburban and rural use of car alarms might have some value.
You know what irritates me more than the noise of car alarms? The attitude that car-alarm owners display (whether they mean to or not) that the theft of their car is everyone else's problem as well.
Think about it: They park their car on the street, arm the car alarm, then walk a block to the movie theatre, and frequently there is no way they can possibly hear the alarm if they are sitting in a loud movie. So if the alarm goes off, everyone else has to hear it, but not the owner (what a relief, it would be unfortunate if their movie had to be disturbed).
And so the urban dwellers of the world are developing skills of ignoring car alarms. So when the thief busts in, nobody cares, except that they have to exercise their newly-developed mental skills of ignoring the loud obnoxious noise the car is making.
I used to know someone who lived in a very shoddy little part of town. It was a weekly occurrence to hear a car alarm go off, followed by the starting of a car's engine, and both receding quickly into the distance. I wasn't the only one who heard both and ignored them, all people around that neighborhood noticed, but just took it in stride. I admit, the first time I heard it I was a little shocked, but soon grew used to--and even bored of--these events.
You see, car alarm people? All you are doing is making noise and disturbing people. You are bunny-headed if you think that a car alarm is really a theft-prevention device. Go buy one of those steering wheel locks. They're not perfect, but they are more effective than loud noises. Or an ignition shut-down switch perhaps.
Of course, you don't look sophisticated and hip while you are locking a big orange metal bar onto your steering wheel, do you? I mean, you must feel awfully cool as you pivot and point your fob at your car, pull the trigger and get that little satisfying feedback as the alarm chirps back, "yes master." But it is a fool's paradise and false comfort; the thieves will break in and take whatever they want, including your car, nevertheless.
You can argue that the same would happen with a steering lock or an ignition switch ... yes, perhaps, but at least you haven't simultaneously pissed off the entire neighborhood! At least you haven't made your car-theft into everyone else's problem.
The truth is: If your car is stolen, nobody else cares. You are not important, you are not entitled to have your car defended by everyone within earshot ... and you are not even entitled to disturb everyone's day with a useless noisemaker. The noise from your car alarm will not prevent theft, it will not marshall an army of passers-by to come to the protection of your car; in fact, it will just irritate the hell out of everyone as your car is stolen anyway.