# Do you give a damn about car alarms? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 11, 2025, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188 "2025-02-11T20:32:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/21 "2025-02-12T04:06:06Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Has anyone studied the effectiveness of noisy car alarms in reducing stolen cars? > > Because I am skeptical that they matter In my country (Israel) car alarms were outlawed in 2017 ,as part of a law governing noise pollution. It didn’t affect my insurance rates. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/22 "2025-02-12T05:04:20Z")
I live on a street of mostly single family homes and familiar vehicles. I’d look out the window if I heard a car alarm, especially if it was a weird time and double especially if it sounded within a house-radius or two. We don’t have nuisance alarms on the block now so any at all is out of the ordinary. I’ve lived other places where I wouldn’t bother. We had a series of false fire alarms in my dormitory in college and, well, I stopped responding to even those. It was cold outside and, after one or two false evacuations from some dingbat pulling the lever, I decided I’d run if I smelled smoke or heard screams. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/23 "2025-02-12T12:47:34Z")
That sounds like a very sensible idea. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/24 "2025-02-12T12:51:49Z")
The Wikipedia article on car alarms even mentions one instance where a thief deliberately rocked a car to set off the alarm, so that the noise of that would drown out the sound of the broken window (which apparently people would care more about than the alarm). ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/25 "2025-02-12T13:11:20Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Once in parking lot as I was going in a car was really going off. This caused the car next to it to go off. Apparently they were feeding each other as they were still going off when I came out much later. Yeah, that works. That reminds me of a time I used to work in an office in a strip mall, and the business next to us was a car detailing and auto alarm place. The owner had a pickup truck with an alarm that would flash the lights and a loud voice would say something like “Step away from the vehicle!” I remember looking out our front window one day during a torrential thunderstorm and this guy’s alarm was going off about every ten or fifteen seconds. He finally had to run out in the pouring rain to shut the damn thing off. 😅 ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/26 "2025-02-12T13:45:42Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > the only times it’s ever gone off are when I accidentally press the button on the remote I’ve done this several times on my cars, and then I fumble around trying to figure out how to silence it. The ones I really hated (I’m pretty sure they no longer exist) are the ones that talk to you: “You are too close - step back!” Back in the 90s, I used to have to walk thru a parking lot from one building to another, and inevitably, I’d pass that stupid car and have it yell at me. Yeah, that was an effective deterrent. > [@WildaBeast](#): > > right by a busy railroad track. Similarly by a military airfield on occasion… > [@Kropotkin](#): > > Also in-home smoke detectors: Can’t agree with this - we were staying with my sister and we were all awakened because smoking embers in a box in the basement ignited as we slept. (BIL thought they were cold when he cleaned the fireplace and dumped them into the box.) Fortunately, apart from disturbed sleep and the lingering smoke smell, the only damage was a partly burned pair of curtains and some minor burns on BIL’s hands. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/27 "2025-02-12T13:47:38Z")
You’re right, of course. But the ratio of toast to real fire alerts is pretty high, is all. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/28 "2025-02-12T15:21:20Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Presumably, because they’re still a thing, that means they work at discouragement well enough. I’d be interested in seeing some stats. So would I. I’m not at all convinced that they’re not still a thing just because humans, once we’ve started to do a thing, tend to keep right on doing it as long as it isn’t killing us off instantly. (And sometimes even if it is killing some of us off.) > [@FairyChatMom](#): > > smoking embers in a box in the basement ignited as we slept. (BIL thought they were cold when he cleaned the fireplace and dumped them into the box.) Public Service Announcement, Important: Just as guns should always be treated as loaded, ashes should always be treated as if they are hot. I personally know of two houses that burned down entirely because somebody thought their ashes were cold, a day or more after they’d been removed from the stove. – if a smoke detector goes off, I inspect, thoroughly, using both eyes and nose and checking enclosed spaces as well as ones near the detector. But in my experience false alarms, even persistent false alarms, are quite common. Sometimes the alarm’s defective. Sometimes, as said, it’s scorched toast or whatever. Sometimes the alarm’s got dust or an insect in it. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/29 "2025-02-12T16:12:04Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > ashes should always be treated as if they are hot. BIL knows that now. The really stupid thins is that there was a proper ash bucket right there, but for some reason, he chose the cardboard box. Not one of his brighter moments. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/30 "2025-02-12T16:55:42Z")
Yes, that is dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/31 "2025-02-12T16:59:37Z")
Don’t car alarms have an automatic shutoff timer so they do not run all night? I have no idea but I thought they did now to avoid things like this. ETA: Seems much better to me to have some kind of engine disabling mechanism instead of an alarm. If an alarm is triggered, instead of making noise, just disable the engine. Starting the car would require a code to be input (or key or something) and to get around that would require special equipment and fussing with the car’s computers. Make it a super-hassle to steal and it probably won’t be stolen. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/32 "2025-02-12T17:04:25Z")
I’ve had neighbors with overly sensitive alarms. Our complex is on a fairly busy side street so any time a car/truck/motorcycle drives by too close or too loud, off goes the alarm. There have been a couple of times when the alarms went off 20 or 30 times a day, which was annoying as hell. Not much I could do about it since the owners were never actually there when the alarm was going off. The one time I did catch the owner by his car, he got belligerent and physically threatened me when I said the alarm was disturbing the neighborhood and suggested he might leave it off. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/33 "2025-02-12T17:07:32Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > You’re right, of course. But the ratio of toast to real fire alerts is pretty high, is all. I would recommend getting a photoelectric smoke detector rather than the ionizing kind. The photoelectric type is better at detecting a smouldering fire, and less likely to generate false alarms while cooking. At least for the smoke detector closest to the kitchen. I put a photoelectric alarm in the hallway since that’s the one that was giving me false alarms while cooking, and a combination photoelectric/ionizing one in the bedroom. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/34 "2025-02-12T18:09:47Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Don’t car alarms have an automatic shutoff timer so they do not run all night? I didn’t mean literally; there were pauses. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/35 "2025-02-12T20:29:55Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > would flash the lights and a loud voice would say something like “Step away from the vehicle!” I Lol, that takes me back. A few people had those in high school, super startling, ultimately banned. They not only shouted without warning (I guess that’s the warning) but also had a proximity radar(?) so noncontact. > Protected by Viper, Stand Back! ---
**Author:** ![Yelnick\_McWawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/839c29/32.png) [@Yelnick\_McWawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yelnick_McWawa)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/36 "2025-02-22T17:17:15Z")
I was sitting in a parking lot when the alarm went off in the car next to me. Two minutes later, the owner showed up. I told her that her alarm had gone off. She INTENTIONALLY set off the alarm so that she could find the car. It was all I could to to not use 4-letter words. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/37 "2025-02-23T01:25:45Z")
Just pressing the lock button makes it chirp. I’d think everyone knows that these days (but, maybe not). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/38 "2025-02-23T21:11:05Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Has anyone studied the effectiveness of noisy car alarms in reducing stolen cars? > > Because I am skeptical that they matter much. According to this- they are useless- [NoiseOFF - Noise Pollution - Car Alarms](https://www.noiseoff.org/caralarms.php#:~:text=For%20all%20the%20noise%20they,an%20auto%20theft%20in%20progress). _For all the noise they create, there is absolutely no evidence that car alarms work. Auto thieves intentionally trip the car alarm to mask the sound of breaking glass. Thieves can disable an alarm in seconds. People do not respond to car alarms and will take no action to reduce an auto theft in progress._ _Better known in the industry as “nuisance alarms”, car alarms seriously affect millions of people every day. The noise from car alarms disrupts sleep patterns, productivity and daily life. Car alarms are known to disrupt weddings, funerals and other important moments._ Mind you, that site seems biased. AI says **AI Overview** _Car alarms may deter some thieves, but skilled thieves can easily disable them. Some say that vehicle recovery systems and immobilizers are more effective than audible alarms._ \*\* **Car alarms** : A loud alarm may deter an amateur thief, but skilled thieves can disable them by clipping wires.\* and I have not yet found a cite that says they are effective, many say there is nothing to prove they are deterrents. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > This is the point of car alarms. Not to alert passers by, or the owner, but to discourage the perp going through with the theft. But do they do that? I cant find anything that says they actually work as advertised. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/39 "2025-02-24T13:13:24Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Make it a super-hassle to steal and it probably won’t be stolen. This is my method. Our neighborhood loses a few cars every week to thieves. These are apparently key-clone or relay attacks, as the cars are very new and the owners don’t seem to be alerted to a theft-in-progress. I have several layers of delaying mechanisms, both high and low tech in mine. It’s my hope that enough time and frustration will cause them to move on. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188/40 "2025-02-24T16:13:54Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > This is my method. **Our neighborhood loses a few cars every week** to thieves. !!! How big or small is your PD? Do they use CompuStat or something similar to track crimes & show trends? It allows them to see patterns & to say, saturate a neighborhood at 2am on a Tues because that is typically the worst time for vehicle thefts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-a-damn-about-car-alarms/1014188.md?page=3)