Trollheart

I was talking to my new neighbour the other day and she couldn't believe that people today won't respond to a car alarm going off, will just assume it's gone off by accident. I had to admit, I'm the same: if I hear one I tend to just get annoyed, not investigate or check.

It seems to me that in general, car alarms no longer fulfill the function for which they were designed. Everyone is so pissed off now when one goes off that I'd be willing to bet a large percentage of people do one of two things when they hear one: a) assuming they own a car and are in its vicinity, flash the beeper out the window to make it stop or b) ignore it altogether.

I know when I hear one my immediate reaction is not "Oh someone may be stealing my neighbour's car!" but "Oh no! That's gonna keep me awake/wake up my sister!" I don't think, to my shame I agree, about the possibility of someone losing their car, I only think of my own discomfort.

So if this is the way most of us react, then what is the real point of a car alarm? It's supposed to alert you, or others, to the fact that your car is being taken, but if it gets ignored and everyone assumes it's just another misfire, what's the use?

Wonder if anyone else feels the same way, particularly those of you without cars?

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018