Do car alarms simply cry wolf?

kw: opinion, alarms, security

Just now I receieved an E-mail from a colleague with the following content:

Put your car keys beside your bed at night.

If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car.

The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.

This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator.

Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this: It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it.

My first thought was, "Only if you have really nosy neighbors."

I ask you, what do you do when you hear a car alarm go off? Do you do what I do? I may glance over if it is nearby, but I usually ignore it.

Car alarms "false" so frequently that most people have probably never heard one go off for a "real" reason, but we all hear one hooting away every week or two. For this reason, the only "security system" I use is "The Club".

If I were to hear a car alarm go off late at night at a nearby house, I might look, but probably only after ten to thirty minutes. Perhaps that means I need to start a Neighborhood Watch; if we are all primed to do so, we'll at least look out the window.

The primary "home security" system I use is forethought. I picked a neighborhood from which the 911 people had never had a call. It is something almost never done: when moving, talk to the police before talking to the Realtor!