Why do they still make car alarms? (2015) • Hacker News Board

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#491

Post by throwaway0a5e » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 12:11 PM UTC

m463 wrote: post #478

johanvts wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is illegal to honk in Denmark unless theres a dangerous situation ahead. Honk any other a time you can be fined about 130€

I remember a case where a person was pulled over by the police for flashing his lights at oncoming traffic to warn of a speed trap. I think his defense was that fining him for it interfered with his free speech. I wonder if honking is a free speech issue :)

Pretty much all these laws main goal is to be a pretext for an otherwise illegal fishing stop. So pretty much all of them can be overturned if someone with deep enough pockets to prople the defense up the court system waits around long enough to find a case with a sympathetic fact pattern.

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#492

Post by throwaway0a5e » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 12:13 PM UTC

dawnerd wrote: post #180

BuildTheRobots wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Technically a car park would be ok, but the regulations state: A horn should not be sounded when stationary on a road at any time, other than at times of danger due to another vehicle on or near the road. A horn should not be used on a moving vehicle on a restricted road (basically a road that has street lights and a 30mph limit) between the times of 11:30 pm and 7:00 am.

Some (all?) US states have similar wordings in their laws as well but I've never heard of it being enforced.

Pretty much everything impolite you can do in a car is illegal under some statute. None of it ever gets enforced regularly because the point isn't 100% enforcement, the point is to have pretext for fishing stops and for stopping people who did something the cop didn't like.

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#493

Post by throwaway0a5e » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 12:18 PM UTC

greggman3 wrote: post #294

anonymousiam wrote: post #112

If the author had a Ring doorbell (and looked at their crime reports), or participated on NextDoor, they would know that theft from parked cars is the number one problem in most neighborhoods. An alarm is still a good deterrent for people who do not park their cars in a garage.

> theft from parked cars is the number one problem in most neighborhoods You forgot to add "in the USA" (or some other country). Where I live (Japan), AFAIK, theft from cars is practically non-existent. Leaving things in your car visible is not an issue. I don't think I've ever seen a pile of glass from a car window busted the entire time I've spent here (14 yrs) where as in SF, several times, I'd walk by Dolores Par…

Draw a line between Bangor and San Diego and property crime in the US basically increases along it.

There are places in the US that are basically as safe as Japan with regard to property crime.

The only car thefts in my small city (~40k) this year were from a 14yo and a 9yo duo that were taking stuff people left running, driving a few blocks over and then going over it for anything of value.

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#494

Post by thesmok » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 12:18 PM UTC

lotsofpulp wrote: post #45

mumblemumble wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the USA, as long as you're not recording audio and it's not in a place where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy, clandestine video surveillance is A-OK.

I don’t know why cars don’t come with built in dash cams yet. Seems like there is huge demand for it.

Some Citroëns do.

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#495

Post by thesmok » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 12:27 PM UTC

reaperducer wrote: post #64

sparrish wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which can all be defeated by the car thief carrying a $100 box that blocks all kinds of wireless signals (GPS, LoJack, 4G, etc)

90% of car thieves aren't going to invest $100 in a fuzz box. If they had $100, they'd blow it on skag and not need to steal the car.

From the comments on this post, it seems to me there's a big difference between US and EU car thieves. At least in Eastern Europe and Russia thieves are not just opportunists. They are organized gangs and they've got lots of 007-style equipment. Here the stock alarm/immobilizer in cars is considered worthless. If you want to keep having a car you either park it on secured lot, or install a good security system.

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#496

Post by meowster » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 12:28 PM UTC

asveikau wrote: post #402

meowster wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably needed a disposable car for a crime.

Hm. Maybe I am wrong on this, but then you would expect them to dispose it near a potentially faraway crime scene, not close to where it was stolen.

Plans can change. OP asked a question, and I provided a possibility that wasn't previously considered.

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#497

Post by zenexer » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 12:56 PM UTC

jniedrauer wrote: post #245

olyjohn wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s actually illegal in Washington State as well. I’m sure that’s fairly common in a lot of states and countries. But of course it’s also not enforced here.

> It’s actually illegal in Washington State Woah, didn't know this. It's not like it really changes anything when someone lays on their horn while passing me on my bike. But at least I can feel some righteous indignation now.

If I recall correctly, either in my state or a state I visited, it’s technically a legal requirement to honk while overtaking a cyclist. Nobody ever does that, though, since it comes across as rude.

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#498

Post by elboru » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 1:09 PM UTC

hoten wrote: post #133

elboru wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people think that the honk/beep is to confirm that the car got locked and the alarm got activated. So they will press the lock button until they hear the confirmation.

But it is a confirmation. If you're far enough away (perhaps you forgot to lock right away), you won't hear the lock mechanism and wont know if you are too far away for the signal to reach. So you wait for a honk.

I guess what I meant was that there are some models that will be locked by clicking only once, they won’t make any beep/honk (you can know they are locked because you can hear the locks), but if you click again then the car will make a sound to confirm it’s locked, I guess this is a feature, if you are far from the car you will know the controller signal actually reached the car. But a lot of people think pressing once locks the car and the second time is to set the alarm.

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#499

Post by dominotw » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 1:39 PM UTC

ineedasername wrote: post #285

dominotw wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

they are Homeless by choice. my cousin was one.

That is a loaded claim. Perhaps you could provide a more detailed support for it besides an anecdotal data point. Along with details of your cousin's situation to better classify his status (i.e., if your cousin was couch surfing for a while, or living on the street, or in a shelter, or in a car, etc)

Yes for sure. My cousin and moved to chicago into a $1000/per month rental unit in west chicago. I found a minimum wage job as a gas station clerk, my cousin refused to get a job and preferred being a vagrant, I had to kick him out since I couldn't afford to pay the full rent without a roomate and I had maxed out the one credit card I had. He bounced around from place to place tricking family and friends into believing he is working on finding job. One of my family contacts even got him a job at subway in suburbs of chicago but he refused to work there for more than a week. He eventually ended up on the streets. I am not quite sure if he could've used an govt assistance since he didn't have a legal status in the country. I eventually found a better paying job at a hospital picking up soiled laundry but I lost touch with my cousin, he didn't have a cell phone back then.

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#500

Post by einpoklum » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 2:02 PM UTC

jojobas wrote: post #379

audiometry wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah the preoccupation with “how will the person use this money” I’ve done away with. I donate money to people. If it’s a scam or they use it for “unhealthy” ends, then I consider that is on them, not me. I gave the money with good intentions. I’m not tied to the outcome.

Assuming your donations are limited, a dollar given to a junkie or a scammer is a dollar not given to a hungry man.

Scammers have better things going than sitting on street-corners begging for pocket change.

As for junkies - homeless junkies get hungry too.