As I was listening to a car alarm go off last night (and again this morning), I wondered whether as a security measure they are effective at all. My guess was that the massive number of false positives insures that they go completely ignored when they go off. I was right. Transportation Alternatives has the numbers. Don’t go around thinking The Club is a better choice, either. Professional thieves target cars with The Club so that they can avoid walking around with a pry bar.
June 20, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Next thing you’re gonna tell me the thousands of dollars I have spent on tiger repellent were wasted. Well I won’t hear a word of it! My house has been largely tiger-free since 2005!
I totally believe those studies and hate oversensitive car alarms. But: the one time my old Saab got broken into and had the stereo stolen was on one of the handful of nights that I had locked it with the key, which did not activate the alarm, instead of with the remote. The only visible sign of the alarm was a flashing red light in the dash. Perhaps just coincidence.
I think the major factor in reducing car thefts has been electronic ignition keys that make it far harder to hotwire modern cars.