I mean, like today, one of my neighbors cars has been going off every few minutes, not once of which was it someone trying to steal it -- or even being anywhere near it. And yet it beeps.But heres where it gets irritating: Not only are we so conditioned to ignoring these alarms that we wouldnt suspect a crime, the person who owns the car lets it beep *because they cant hear the beeping.* Which means that the car alarm fails in every way possible.So whats the point of these things? Why are they even legal? If you cant hear it whats the point? If rain sets it off, whats the point? And who are these inconsiderate jerks that think their alarm is a good idea? Do they *like* the sound? Or do they just assume that everyones car alarm but their own is bad?
It's STILL a deterrent, because it does draw SOME attention to the thief and car when a theft attempt is made. A determined or professional can and will still steal your car, with OR without an alarm. Petty thieves will move on to another car that's easier to steal and doesn't make noise, so an alarm just reduces the chances of a theft somewhat.
The original intention was that if a car was being broken into, some loud obnoxious thing would start screaming bloody murder and attract a lot of attention, thus discouraging a would-be car thief from stealing some nice set of wheels. Nowadays they don't get nearly as much attention as they did in the 90s, but they still get some attention as people think is that my car doing that? Also nowadays they've evolved into full car security systems, going as far as to shut down most the car's electrical system (or at least what doesn't pertain to the alarm :P) to prevent it from being hot-wired. Sorry about your troubles, but these things really do serve a good purpose, and are 100% legal.
You're right, but like the other guy said, thieves don't like attention. If a car alarm goes off. people look. They will not do anything, but they will look, which is exactly the opposite of what the thief wants. Car alarms are only deterrents. Annoying deterrents.
