Miata Mailing List: November 1994, Message #179
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   From: buck@claude.ma30.bull.com (Kenneth J. Buck)
Subject: RE: vandalism
   Date: Mon, 7 Nov 1994 14:05:38 -0500

> From: dinsmoor%cfa7.DECNET@cfa.harvard.edu
> Subject: RE: theft, vandalism & alarms
> 
> Yeah, we all love our cars, but the well-being of my bod is more 
> important than any material possession I'll ever own.  The only
> advantage I can see to silent alarms is they allow you to call 
> professionals trained and armed to deal with scumbags (the police)
[...]
> Obnoxious as they can be at times, I still think an audible alarm is 
> better.  

i think there's value to be had in both, but exactly how much 
depends a lot on where you park and what the situation is.

in my previous life, i lived in an apartment complex with my car
parked right outside the window; i didn't have an audible alarm
in my car (rx7), but the downstairs neighbor did in his car
(monte carlo).  my car was stolen once, and broken into a bunch
of times with intent to steal (yeah, i know, i should have
gotten an alarm after the first time).  a silent alarm *might*
have caught the thieves (i woke up once, having heard them 
in the act, called the police, and they showed up before the
thieves disappeared from sight, although not quite quick enough
to catch 'em).  i think it's unlikely that an audible alarm would
have caught them, but it certainly *would* have annoyed everyone in
the complex.  life is full of trade-offs, and getting along with
the neighbors is important too.

my neighbor's car was broken into at least once, and we all
endured numerous false alarms at other times - some may have
been tripped by thieves, but i'll wager most were truly false
alarms.  nobody took his car, but the alarm didn't prevent
damage.  the only way to _prevent_ damage with an alarm
is via some kind of perimeter alarm, but that has limited application
in a parking lot where people may be parking next to you all the time.

where i live now, i'm less likely to annoy as many people by false
alarms, (although i've woken up a few times when my neighbor across
the street has accidentally set his alarm off at 3am).  a perimiter
system would work better in my own driveway, where there's less
likelihood of people wandering around the car for other reasons.

i'm not sure what the ideal world is (short of a Star Trek force field),
but maybe a combination of a _visible_ (not necessarily _audible_)
alarm that lets the thief know the car is "protected" before they
bust the locks and a silent pager (that lets you call the cops while
they work, in case they don't care about the flashing strobe light)
would have some benefit.
audible alarms have some value, depending on where you park, but
have failed the test of fitting well into society.

Keith Tanner writes:
> Another alternative is to not put your Miata in a high risk situation.
> Bike to work.  Or walk.  Or take the bus.  Keep it out of sight with a car
> cover.  Rent a garage.  Move to Canada.  Get a Chevette to drive to high
> risk areas (nobody's going to touch one of those! :)  You could even
> (gasp!) get a hardtop for weekdays, and take it off for the weekend.
> Alarms are not the only option.

in my previous life, it was far more dangerous for me to park
"at home" than it was to park "at work" (guess that means i'd
have been better off working weekends? :-)
i "solved" this by moving to a better neighborhood, but not
everyone can manage or afford to do this... :-(

[...still waiting for the ideal vehicle protection system...]

--                                             
Ken Buck                                          /|
Internet: kbuck@peritus.com                   \'o.O'    ACK!
Mail:     Peritus Software Services           =(___)= THPTPHH!
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