Do you feel guilty about locking your car, or is it just me?

[quakerboy]

I love the ability to lock my car by pushing a button. Its just so damn convenient.

At the same time, when I hit that button and my car goes beep, and I am around other people, I feel a little bad. Its kinda like I am walking up to each one of the people in the vicinity and saying "I don't trust you". And I really hate living like that. I want to trust people, and I want people to feel that they can be trusted.

Am I the only one?

[Lucian]

1. No.

I don't feel guilty about locking my car. Just think...one of those people you look at COULD be the one who will try to break into your car.

[quakerboy]

7. In my neighborhood, its would, not could.

I'm still trying to figure out which of them stole my stereo setup a couple years back.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Probably.

Everybody locks their car, so I doubt that the people nearby when my car goes beep when I lock it think it's strange at all, because they do it, too. I lock my car even when it's parked in my driveway. The world IS full of assholes, unfortunately.

[quakerboy]

4. I know

and I don't take it personally when others lock their car. This is just one of the thoughts that flashes through my head as I walk away from my car, particularly if someone is walking near the car

Not gonna stop me from locking it. Although considering how many break-ins there are, it sometimes feels like a waste of time.

[lutefisk]

3. Maybe the "beep" can be turned off?

It's a little obnoxious when people lock their cars and the horn honks. On my car the horn honked by default. Now just the parking lights flash to confirm the doors locked.

[quakerboy]

5. Hmm

The van I drive now is relatively unobnoxious and quiet. But my wifes car is loud. May just look into that. Thanks.

[uncle ray]

54. most certainly the honk be disabled.

read the owners manual, it should tell you how. there's always the old fashioned way of locking the door manually as you get out.

i expect people to lock their stuff up, but i consider it rude to not know how to do it silently when the need arises, like at 3 am.

[Roon]

6. only when..

I am at the cabin fifty miles from the city..only people up there are family. I have locked the car before...just out of habit though.

[quakerboy]

8. The only time I don't is when

I am at a church. I don't trust church parking lots, or nearby areas. I wonder if anyone has done any studies, I bet there is more theft per parked car in church lots than anywhere else in the USA.

[Roon]

16. From what I hear

The Holy Bible is the most often book stolen world wide. Not sure if that's been snoped or not.

[LeftyMom]

9. No. I even lock the car when I'm in it.

It only takes one person you know dying in a carjacking to make that a habit, let me tell you.

And of course I lock it when I'm parking it, I have a pretty badass stereo, and I really don't want to donate it to the larger community. Let alone get my dash put back together and buy another one after some asshole tears half my car apart getting it out.

[quakerboy]

13. Oddly, I lock more now that my stereo is gone.

Whoever took mine was the politest damn thieves you ever heard of. They managed to unlock things with about a 1/8 inch opened window, without breaking anything. They took the time to detach the wires carefully and take the stereo out without any damage. When they took the subwoofer out, they were nice enough to take the case of bottled water and some sundries that were in the way and place them nicely in the back seat. And again, detached the wires with care.

Thats a big part of why I am pretty sure it was a neighbor.

At one point, we will call it the college years, I had a $2k stereo in an $800 minivan. I left it unlocked very regularly, even when i moved to the "bad" part of town. The spray paint paint job was pretty good cover and no one gave it a second look. It was ransacked one night, but all they took was spare change.

[LeftyMom]

14. I think nobody takes mine because nobody expects a good stereo to be in an aging wagon

If I had, say, a newish Honda* I'd have to get an alarm that would deploy a division of Marines armed with pit bulls as soon as anybody walked within fifty feet. And somebody would get by that and steal my stereo anyhow. If I was lucky they might leave the rest of the car.

*they're the big thing to steal around here, because the ricers wreck theirs racing and need parts

[JVS]

10. No. My car doesn't make noise though.

[Pierre.Suave]

11. Nope

not. one. bit.

[FloridaJudy]

12. I *never* lock my car unless I'm in it.

I've had my car broken into a few times, and it costs me more to replace the glass than to replace the items that were stolen. Anyone who wants my old coffee cups, junk mail and broken CD player are welcome to them. Even the most desperate thief wouldn't bother with the car itself: it's a sixteen year old Chrysler.

I do lock it when I'm driving, though, since the thought of being mugged doesn't thrill me.

[WinkyDink]

35. They might want your ID and garage opener.

[FloridaJudy]

36. Garage door opener?

This is Florida. Nobody I know has a garage - just carports. And I don't keep my ID in the car. Well, the junk mail does have my address on it, but anyone who takes a good look at my car would quickly realize that robbing my apartment would be equally unrewarding.

[CreekDog]

44. my vehicle registration has the address blocked out

for that reason.

[Turbineguy]

15. After I lock my car

it gives me that look of rapprochement.

[petronius]

17. I had a friend who used to feel bad about locking her car.

She also didn't like having stuff stolen out of her car.

It's OK, though, because those two things aren't related...

[Shell Beau]

18. I always lock my car as soon as I am in it. But I always check when

I see a person walking near my car. I feel bad because that person most likely has no intention of doing anything, but you never know.

[skygazer]

19. Well, I doubt if the people around you feel like it's directed at them

We all know that it's common sense to lock up your valuables and your car and what's in it are valuables. If those people around you are trustworthy, they have no reason to feel slighted by your locking your car because they know it is not because of them.

If they aren't trustworthy, who cares if they're offended?

[argyl]

20. Nope. In a crowd of honest people it takes one asshole to screw up your day,or worse.

[KitchenWitch]

21. I feel no guilt when I lock my car.

As a female in this society, I need to be ever vigilant about my own personal safety and the safety of my children. Locking my car is one small part of my vigilance. If I leave my car unlocked, I could very easily become a victim of a car-jacking, or worse, rape and murder. So I lock my car and feel no guilt about it.

[Lil Missy]

22. Easy. Lock the fucking car.

[quakerboy]

31. I do

Although, Ive never thought of it the way most people on this thread have. I have been fortunate in never living anywhere where carjacking was more than a very distant spectre. And I am young enough that the vast predominance of cars I have owned have autolock functions as soon as the auto starts moving. Car does that on its own. No guilt about that.

This is not a "problem" per say, nor anything that effects my behavior. I still lock the car, and put the club on every night. But this is one of the many thoughts that flash through my head at about that point. I was curious if anyone else had ever had that thought.

[old mark]

23. Where I live, you have to be nuts not to lock your car - I don't give a fuck

about the feelings of others when I lock my car doors.
I also carry a gun, which would probably make them feel even more put-upon.

mark

[Skittles]

24. I hope you're the only one

you should always lock your car

[MrScorpio]

25. Jesus Christ, Man, WAKE UP!

The lock is there for you to use.


So, use it and enjoy it.

[Deep13]

26. I don't trust people I don't know.

Trust has to be earned and is never assumed.

[quakerboy]

53. I dont trust most people

I do know.

[mwooldri]

27. Guilt? No. Pissed off? Yes.

Why people can't leave other peoples' stuff alone I don't know.

However it happens. We got broken into in our home recently. We were in an area where people could in theory leave their doors unlocked and no one would bother each other. That's ended now and everyone around here's locking their doors.

Mark.

[quakerboy]

29. I have that thought as well

I don't trust people as a generality. And definitely not with anything I cannot afford to lose. I just regret that fact. I wish the world were a different place where all this shit weren't necessary, ya know?

[Justyce]

28. Two reasons I always lock my car whether I'm in it or not...

1) I've had my car broken into several times, a couple of times while sitting in front of my home at night, and now my car has an alarm so it would at least wake me up should it happen again.

2) I was carjacked at gunpoint and now always make sure to hit the lock button as soon as I get in my car.

And no, I do not feel guilty about taking this small step to protect myself and my things....

Also, when I filed with the insurance company over one of the break-ins, the first thing they asked me was if my doors were locked, so makes me wonder if they could've gotten out of paying had they not been locked...

[datasuspect]

30. you don't roll the window down and ask them if they want to party?

[quakerboy]

32. If I had a party,

I might think about it.

More seriously, though, this thread is a real bummer for me. Apparently the rest of y'all live in a lot tougher world than I have experienced. I cant think of the last time I heard about car jacking in this area. Between that and cars that auto lock when you start moving, when I posted this that had never even occurred to me, and I was thinking purely of when i walk away from the car at night.

[jobycom]

33. Sometimes I feel that way.

It's a timing thing. No one thinks anything if you lock your car as part of the routine of getting out of it, but if I've walked away from it and there are people nearby, I wonder if they'll think I locked it because of them, especially if they are someone who might be used to being treated with suspicion--teenagers, for instance.

Then again, I worry when I'm petting one of my cats that my other cat will get jealous, so maybe I am too empathetic. :)

[quakerboy]

50. exactly

I am glad someone gets it. Its not like you are going to change your habits, but its a thought that passes through before heading on into the ether.

[WinkyDink]

34. I live in America. So, "guilty"? Not. A. Chance.

[bigwillq]

37. My new car locks when you reach 15 MPH.

I used to always lock my old car everytime I got into it.

[BarbaRosa]

40. MamaRosa's car does that when put in gear,

mine is not so loud when I push the button down.:)

on edit: no I don't feel guilty about locking.

[Pacifist Patriot]

38. It's not a feeling of guilt, but I find the attention-getting of the beep annoying.

[unpossibles]

39. no. I live in a neighborhood where it's something of a necessity

then again, I kind of want someone to steal it now...

[CreekDog]

41. i hated that in a campground especially

my old car, a VW, couldn't be locked without it beeping.

my current Subaru lets me shut off the beeping and i keep it turned off.

[derby378]

42. Nope - someone tried to open our car door while we were just sitting there

If the doors hadn't all locked, who knows what they would have done? I called security on their asses.

[bluesbassman]

43. No, but mine's kind of a pain in the butt to do.

:)

[Critters2]

45. I stopped locking my car when I lived in Chicago. Since then,

I leave very few things in my car, and don't lock it. I've found this saves wear and tear on car windows.

[MorningGlow]

46. I don't have to worry about it

My driver's side door lock is broken, so if I lock it, I have a hell of a time trying to unlock it. I'm usually unsuccessful and have to crawl in through the passenger side.

Meh. It's a Jeep--ain't gonna be secure anyway, even though I have the hard top on now. I lock the middle compartment that has my CDs and stuff and leave it at that.

[Haole Girl]

47. Guilty? Hell no.

I've had my car broken into too many times.

[gmoney]

48. well it keeps bored kids and drunks from messing with it...

yes, serious thieves if they want my car, will have a way to take it. but a couple time, I did have someone open my car door, take cassette tapes (back in the day) and pocket change and sunglasses and stuff. not stuff someone would break a window to take, but still a pain in the ass to lose and replace.

A few months ago, not sure if they broke in, or I accidently triggered the trunk release, but I woke up to find the trunk of my car wide open in the hotel parking lot. Someone took a bag with photo props and doodads, another bag with a few clothes and costume jewelry, and about 20 library CDs. They LEFT about $1500 worth of photo equipment untouched. But it was still a pain having to replace all those CDs, and to this day I think of something I need and say "oh, that was in the bag that got stolen"

[quakerboy]

51. some time back Canada broke into my car

They took the coffee, the flashlights, and my prescription sunglasses.

They left the 2k stereo, the Ipod, the leather jacket, the passport, and the cash.

Go fig. I guess in Canada priorities are different.

[sammythecat]

49. I can't remember the last time I locked my car

even though I had one stolen about 20 years ago.

Never lock my house either. Still have it.

[quakerboy]

52. you just better watch out

according to the majority of this thread, your house will certainly be housejacked soon.

I enjoyed living places like that, and when I was single, it was never a concern. I owed more than I had, what little I did possesses wasn't worth taking, and I am not eye-candy for anyone except my wife and Gay Canadian bears, so it just wasn't something I worried about.

[emilyg]

55. Are you kidding

I feel smart.

[EvilAL]

56. Isn't it easier to

just push the little knob as you get out of the car? Instead of making a sound to let everyone know your car is locked after you are 10 feet away?