City Councils Wants To Ban Car Alarms...Sorta

The City Council has approved a bill that would ban the sale of most car alarms in NYC, specifically the "sale and installation of audible alarms that are motion-activated or that sound for longer than three minutes" (NYTimes). Three minutes? That's cruel - it should be two minutes. And another thing - motion-activated alarms should not be allowed in the city period - this city is all about huge buses and heavy trucks rumbling by, shivering the streets' timbres. Anyway, it's a nice move in attempting to reduce noise pollution, but it might be limited, as the bill, which prohibits the sale and use of car alarms in the city, wouldn't affect car alarms that are pre-installed in cars or installed outside the city (!!!) which is why the Mayor may veto the bill.

How Stuff Works on how car alarms work. And Gothamist on the City Council's first rumblings of this car alarm bill, right after the Mayor's noise reduction initiative was announced.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung on July 22, 2004 2:12 PM

Comments [rss]

Ted Thower

Free from unwanted noise and use best noiseless car alarms to protect your car

Sgt. Dad

I think you all need to get a life. Maybe you're just jealous that you dont have a car alarm on your car. Next time your car gets vandalized, broken into, or stolen maybe you'll think rethink not getting an alarm. If I ever caught someone taking a bat or throwing bricks/rocks at my car I'd take that bat and shove it up their @$$.

Evil Robot

I'm constantly surprised that more cars don't get smashed to shit. There were nights when, even mild-mannered-little-me, wished that I owned a baseball bat.

Luckily, tho, my neightbor had a little trick she liked to play - where she would throw ice cubes from her window at cars that constantly had their alarms on. They would leave little dents ... and then melt. No evidence!

SP

eval, I LOVE the brick tactic. I grew up in the city, and there were so many nights when I was woken up or kept from falling asleep by car alarms (and of course that hasnt changed). I always fantasized about throwing cinder blocks through their windshields. Maybe the next time it happens I'll try your gentler method.

Hot Idea

Connect the car alarm to a buzzer in the car owner's pants (or skirt). This will spur them into action when the car alarm pops off.

Alarmed Carr

I don't mind normal car alarms. I only mind that one super-cheap car alarm that seems to be popular. It's the one that sounds like a video game, and always has the same siren pattern, in the same order:

POW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW

DOW-DOW-DOW-DOW-DOW-DOW-DOW-DOW-DOW-DOW-DOW-DOW-DOW-DOW-DOW-DOW

MROWW-MROWW-MROWW-MROWW-MROWW-MROWW-MROWW-MROWW

DOOOOIP . . .

DOOOOIP . . .

DOOOOIP . . .

DOOOOIP . . .

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

DOOOO-DEEEE...DOOOO-DEEEE...DOOOO-DEEEE...DOOOO-DEEEE

and then it stops for a minute, and you think this time it will really stop for good, but then it STARTS AGAIN when a butterfly lands on it.

eval

Design a device that tranmits the alarm to the car owners keys, better yet a prime body part.

I was studing for finals one night and this bugger's alarm was going all night. We place a well placed brick on the windshield with a note of impending violence to his car if he decides to leave it there alarmed again.

dirtgirl

The current law only makes having a car alarm illegal. This law would extend that to make it illegal to sell them. The report I read said 75% of dealers still install them, despite the law that says they're illegal. So at least this bill moves us in the right direction.

Unfortunately my idiot councilman is one of two to have voted against it.

Your point about the mayor's recent noise initiative is interesting. I think he'd be wise to reconsider this veto. Most noise complaints in NYC are about car alarms.