A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

Post by hutzlibu » Mon, Jul 17, 2023, 5:10 PM UTC

knodi123 wrote: post #86

hutzlibu wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Today, your house keys are basically useless for security" They are not useless. Only some people have the skills and tools to open them - so they are useful at keeping most people out, even though they don't provide perfect protection. Most thieves are not professionals, but for example junkies who look for something easy. A simple automatic light, is already doing wonders to keep them away.

> Only some people have the skills and tools to open them - so they are useful at keeping most people out, No, not really. A large part of the security of locks comes from most people not knowing that they have the tools and skills to open them. It's like if everyone taped their door shut, and we depended on most people not knowing that tape is easily removed. My kid accidentally locked us out of the house the other…

Post by pjot » Mon, Jul 17, 2023, 5:10 PM UTC

Waterluvian wrote: post #14

I knew someone with a shitty pickup truck where he wired a light switch into the fuel pump and hid it under the steering column. The truck would be stolen something like 5 times a year and every time he would find it abandoned a km or so away when the gas in the line ran out. I drove in it once to get lunch and near the beginning the car begins sputtering and he's like, "oh right, you're thirsty" and reached under an…

Post by jjnoakes » Mon, Jul 17, 2023, 5:11 PM UTC

talldatethrow wrote: post #85

postmortembees wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guarantee you I, or anyone else with ~30m of training can get into 95% of homes without leaving much evidence that the locks were tampered with. House locks are very easy to pick open.

If I know my door is locked, and you get in, I can still shoot you since I know I locked it, thus you'll have the tools somewhere near you showing you broke in. If it's just a code, tons of legal ambiguity comes up. Can a gf shoot her exbf that she gave the keycode to last month?

Post by SoftTalker » Mon, Jul 17, 2023, 5:12 PM UTC

knodi123 wrote: post #86

hutzlibu wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Today, your house keys are basically useless for security" They are not useless. Only some people have the skills and tools to open them - so they are useful at keeping most people out, even though they don't provide perfect protection. Most thieves are not professionals, but for example junkies who look for something easy. A simple automatic light, is already doing wonders to keep them away.

> Only some people have the skills and tools to open them - so they are useful at keeping most people out, No, not really. A large part of the security of locks comes from most people not knowing that they have the tools and skills to open them. It's like if everyone taped their door shut, and we depended on most people not knowing that tape is easily removed. My kid accidentally locked us out of the house the other…

Post by neilv » Mon, Jul 17, 2023, 5:12 PM UTC

talldatethrow wrote: post #76

postmortembees wrote: post #20

This is a very engineering solution to a very not-engineering problem. Would this deter thieves? Possibly! Would thieves eventually be able to work around it? Also probably! Would it increase the friction of getting in and driving? Definitely! Today, your house keys are basically useless for security -- getting into your house is trivially easy both destructively and not. But we all use house keys because they feel s…

Another reason you have locks is to show intent to keep others out. You can't shoot someone that walks into your home through an open door. You can shoot someone that rams your door to open it.