| You finally get to sleep and then it happens, | | | | survey by the Progressive Insurance Company |
| somebody car alarm goes off. Do you look? Most | | | | found that fewer than one percent of |
| likely you don’t because car alarms go off for | | | | respondents would call the cops upon hearing a |
| many reasons and not because they are alerting | | | | car alarm. |
| anyone to theft. | | | | Second, alarms are very easy to disable. About |
| For this reason, groups are trying to ban the use | | | | 80 percent of stolen cars are taken by |
| of car alarms. Liu's bill, which was introduced in | | | | professional car thieves, and they know how to |
| 2002 with nine co-sponsors, would ban the sale | | | | deactivate an alarm in just a few seconds, |
| and installation of audible car alarms in New York | | | | according to police and criminologists. |
| City. Moskowitz's bill, introduced in April with | | | | What do car alarms provide? Noise pollution and |
| fifteen co-sponsors, would go further, banning the | | | | health problems. |
| sale, installation, and use of the alarms. Moskowitz | | | | According to a recent Cornell University study, |
| also proposes a mechanism for citizens to report | | | | they found that traffic noise alone raises blood |
| annoying alarms to the police, prompting a | | | | pressure, increases stress hormones, and leads to |
| warning letter to the car owner. | | | | "learned helplessness" in schoolchildren. Many |
| Would the discontinuation of car alarms lead to | | | | traffic sounds contribute to the problem, but car |
| more thefts? Unlikely. According to the Highway | | | | alarms, unpredictable and often exceeding 125 |
| Highway Loss Data Institute, in 1997, while new | | | | decibels, can be especially harmful. |
| vehicle immobilizers cut theft rates in half, the | | | | How can you prevent auto theft if you disable |
| study concludes that cars with alarms "show no | | | | your car alarm? There are many other types of |
| overall reduction in theft losses" compared to cars | | | | anti-theft devices available such as the vehicle |
| without alarms. The alarms just don't work. | | | | immobilizer, tracking systems or silent pagers. |
| There are two main reasons that car alarms don't | | | | Whatever you choose, it will certainly quiet down |
| work. First, people know that the vast majority | | | | the streets at night in contrast to the loud |
| of blaring car alarms are false alarms, set off by | | | | beeping of the car alarm that does nothing but |
| passing trucks, electrical malfunctions, or nothing | | | | annoy the neighbors and possibly truly protect |
| at all. So no one responds to them -- often, not | | | | your vehicle. |
| even the car owners themselves. A recent | | | | |