Car panic alarms could be an effective tool to scare off intruders
I was recently asked to comment on the use of panic buttons on car key fobs as inexpensive burglar alarms. The idea has a lot of merit.
This technique involves taking your car keys out of your pocket or purse and putting them on your nightstand or headboard when you go to bed. If you're awakened by an intruder or perceived intruder, you merely grab your car keys and hit the panic button.
This would cause your car in the garage, driveway or street to start sounding its horn. The noise of the horn and the fact that the intruder would then know someone is awake in the home would scare away most intruders. Secondarily, the noise of the horn would attract attention from neighbors.
The key components of this panic button alarm system are your neighbors. If you're going to use this technique, you should contact your neighbors and ask them to call the police if they ever hear your car alarm sounding. Tell your neighbors how you're using the panic button to make noise to thwart an intruder, draw attention and summon help.
If you have no neighbors nearby, you'll be dependent on the car’s horn alone scaring the intruder. In that case, you'd be better off investing in an alarm system, dog or a firearm for home defense.
If you decide to use the car key panic button method, trial runs of very short duration should be attempted. Make sure the radio wave will reach your car from your bedroom. Make sure you can operate the panic alarm in low light or no light conditions. This includes being able to turn the alarm off, should it activate unintentionally.
Furthermore, in an actual emergency, you should call 911 as soon as you trip the panic button to get the police moving toward your home as soon as possible.
Calling 911 is another motor skill that should be practiced, especially if you are using a cell phone with small buttons. To practice, remove your phone battery or disconnect the phone at the phone jack and practice dialing 9-1-1-SEND , 9-1-1-TALK or just 9-1-1, depending on your phone.
Practice so you can do it in the dark and without eyeglasses. It is important to practice because when you are under intense stress, fine motor skills become impaired.
If you are a neighbor and hear a car alarm sounding and it isn't stopping, call the police. Officers will respond to the car alarm, ascertain the source, run a registration check on the plate or just knock on the door if the vehicle is in a driveway or garage.
Either way, police will try to make contact with the vehicle owner to make sure all is well and get the horn shut off.
Therefore, a car key fob panic button alarm could be an effective tool to ward off intruders and call for help.
Lock it up, don’t leave it unattended, be aware (that the horn that woke you might mean someone needs help) and watch out for your neighbors.
Rich Kinsey is a retired Ann Arbor police detective sergeant who now blogs about crime and safety for AnnArbor.com.
Comments
bunnyabbot
Fri, Feb 19, 2010 : 11:32 p.m.
adam, that would be hot to see!
Adam Jaskiewicz
Thu, Feb 18, 2010 : 4:30 p.m.
A criminal breaking into my house is likely to encounter me bounding down the stairs in my BVDs brandishing a machete.
djm12652
Thu, Feb 18, 2010 : 3:39 p.m.
Good article, however the auto alarm trick is useless to me. I live in an apartment bldg and my car is parked 2 blocks away...so, I do have the dog, and a properly secured firearm and oh yeah a big cop that lives in my building!
tdw
Thu, Feb 18, 2010 : 1:59 p.m.
I don't know how I put an "a" in common
Jake C
Thu, Feb 18, 2010 : 1:41 p.m.
There are a lot of things one can utilize to protect yourself, including a dog, proper locks and deadbolts, motion-activated lighting, security systems, and yes, properly-secured firearms (though it sounds like EyeHeartA2 is just trying to provoke the "gun-haters" into starting an off-topic flame-war). Or simply being aware of your neighbors and your surroundings, as Rich loves to emphasize! But while it's a good idea to have a home defense plan if the unthinkable does happen, if you're paranoid enough (or live in a bad enough neighborhood) to keep your keys on your nightstand so you can activate your car alarm in an instant, and you practice dialing 911 in the dark, ***why not just invest in a proper home security system?*** Seems like 99% of car alarms I hear going off are false alarms, which would quickly make this method relatively useless. Plus, most people I know who own guns for home defense repeatedly emphasize that you can't depend on the police to protect you if it takes them 10-20 minutes to show up at your house after you call 911, so you need to be able to protect yourself if necessary.
bunnyabbot
Thu, Feb 18, 2010 : 1:32 p.m.
A dog is always a nice deterent. Even if you don't have one putting a beware of dog sticker on your screen door can deter. Even a statue of a dog on your porch makes the home owner look like a dog lover and potential owner. I know someone who rigged a sensor to play a recorded dog bark. When I bought my home I was asked if I had a dog by the insurance company, I said yes, she asked what kind, she said that saves a bit on my insurance, although certain kinds (pitbull etc) don't save you money on insurance.
Adam Jaskiewicz
Thu, Feb 18, 2010 : 9:49 a.m.
A neighbor of mine (not sure which one; somewhere down the block) has a car alarm going off EVERY. SINGLE. MORNING. It's always between 8:00 and 8:30.
tdw
Thu, Feb 18, 2010 : 8:20 a.m.
Good commaon sense but I'm waiting to see how some posters will find a way to slam police on this article