Dear RV Shrink:
It is nice that most campgrounds have “no generator” zones, quiet hours posted, and in most cases a considerate population of campers. However, I am often jolted awake in the early morning hours by that most annoying of all sounds, the automobile alarm system. It is not uncommon for some camper to get up in the middle of the night to retrieve something from their car and the blasted horn alarm goes off.
Am I the only one that finds this annoying to the point of verbal abuse? Do I need to check my feelings at the threshold of an outburst response to this invasive blaring? I am sure it has no impact on the horny neighbor, but it seems to be an automatic response for me to yell at them. —Honk if you like me in Lakeland
Dear Honked:
I received a similar complaint a few months ago, so you’re not the only one annoyed by car alarms blasting people awake in the middle of the night.
Yelling only does one thing – it makes you look like a jerk. I would suggest you be a bit more understanding. The person that may need a shrink is the engineer that designed that stupid system. First, do you ever think when you hear those horns blaring, “Hey, someone is stealing a car!” No, you always think, “Who was the idiot engineer that decided that was a great option for every new vehicle in the world?!”
Couldn’t we just have the lights flash quietly? Couldn’t we have the steering wheel quietly lock up? Couldn’t we just have the smart car call the owner’s smartphone and report a possible abduction?
I think we have all experienced an electronic malfunction with this crime-fighting system. I tried to disconnect the horn on mine once but I couldn’t find the stupid thing. I believe it was located under the bumper just so it could not be disconnected.
So instead of yelling at the moon when this happens again, try this: Picture some poor soul out in the dark, in a panic, madly pressing every button on their key fob trying to make their car shut up. They are already embarrassed enough without you making them feel worse. Have you ever thought about the people camped near you listening to some hyena yelping at the poor devil with the malfunctioning horn? —Keep Smilin’, Richard Mallery a.k.a. Dr. R.V. Shrink
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##RVT855
I think in most cases, you CAN’T turn the alarm off. It sets automatically when you lock your doors. The whole thing is annoying. I agree that NO one thinks a car is being stolen when the ‘alarm’ goes off. They think someone simply pushed the wrong button to unlock the car. And, in some cases, if you use your key to unlock the door, the alarm will sound if you waste too much time before you put that key into the ignition. I think some of this ‘technology’ is unnecessary. Just sayin’.
Many times it is the stupid panic button on the FOB that people are hitting. My last 3 vehicles I have disabled that button so that I do not hit it by mistake.
I live between not one,but two car dealerships!
It’s a daily occurrence,did not think of that when we moved here,have noticed Honda alarms more frequent than dodge Chrysler….
I agree, there are a number of things that can set off a car alarm. Some years back I had to park me car (no alarm) in a parking lot at the end of an airport runway. Every time a plane took off, there was a Jeep whose alarm went off. That was Friday night. When I collected my car on Sunday, the Jeep’s alarm would still go off with each airplane. That vehicle had a great battery.
It is not always someone getting into their vehicle. Years ago I worked at a motel across the street from a truck stop. We had one regular guest in particular whose car alarm would go off whenever a truck was exceptionally noisy. I think it was more the vibration through the ground that set it off. But we could never get him to not turn it. We always gave him the room near where he parked hoping he would turn it off sooner.