Car Alarms

One of the most disturbing things to experience is an automobile horn and alarm siren honking and blasting nonstop for 20 minutes or more on the street or in a garage almost every day, or waking up an entire neighborhood at night. City Council members, responsible for public disturbance laws, didn’t hesitate to ban barking dogs and kids’ loud car stereos, but they hesitate to even mention this much greater disturbance. Why? Could it be that kids and dogs don’t vote, and Cadillac, Mercedes and Lincoln owners do vote?

The problem is getting worse with more cars getting louder alarms. The alarm companies could make a security system with a remote brake locking or ignition disabling device, but the honking horn is the easiest--so what if it disturbs the entire neighborhood, the City Council doesn’t object.

Some people will say that a person has the right to protect his property. True, but not at the expense of another person. These alarms impose on everyone and are an invasion of a person’s right to privacy. Therefore, we must decide whether or not we want this noise pollution.

PATRICK SMITH

Los Angeles