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We think life is better because we have anti-theft devices. It never occurs to us that life is worse because we need them.
Life is better because I don't have to wake up to go to work in the morning to find my vehicle missing. Cars have been stolen since their inception so although your statement sounds deep on the surface its really a meaningless jumble under any real scrutiny. My cousins who live near Carson, NV still park their cars unlocked but anytime you're in a decent sized city, you're going to be at risk for theft and it wasn't much different in the 60's.
Last edited by iTsLiKeAnEgG; 03-10-2015 at 03:47 PM..
No we didn't. My dad never took the keys out of his ignition when parked, from when he started driving in 1916 (but he probably started in his later years) and neither his car nor anything in it were ever touched. I think some of his cars, the key corroded in place. In the 1940s you could walk down the street looking in cars, and half of them had the keys in the ignition. I bought used cars in the 60s with the door locks frozen from years of disuse. Nobody locked themselves in when driving, either. Without AC, you park in the sun with the windows open. Every house had change out in plain sight on the front porch, for the milkman and the paper boy.
Your memories are what is known as... nostalgia. Auto theft has always been a problem for as long as autos have been common. Maybe not in 1916 when few knew how to drive but certainly by 1960. 182/100k rate in 1960 is not that much less than the 221/100k rate today. A Historical Look at Vehicle Theft in the United States
Wouldn't it be a novel idea if freedom-loving Americans had an option to toggle on or off the security devices that Big Brother has mandated for their cars. So North Dako0ta farmers wouldn't have to protect their $500 pickup key as if it were a Krugerrand, but could activate security if they were visiting Compton or Gary.
when i went to hight school in early 80, the truck be in parking lot with key in ignition, windows rolled down and a shotgun or rifle in the window gun rack loaded. never had any problems, it was unwritten rule, don't mess with anybody ride. now a day no way in hell. my truck lock in the drive way and i'm still about a mile from that high school.
Your memories are what is known as... nostalgia. Auto theft has always been a problem for as long as autos have been common. Maybe not in 1916 when few knew how to drive but certainly by 1960. 182/100k rate in 1960 is not that much less than the 221/100k rate today. A Historical Look at Vehicle Theft in the United States
What you are overlooking is that the 221 rate today is when cars are nearly impossible to steal, and it's still higher than when it was childishly easy (as in an 8-year-old could do it). Also, auto theft is legally defined differently today. What was then joyriding does not today meet the definition of theft in most states, where theft requires an intent to permanently deprive a rightful owner of property.
When you step back out of your time machine, get together with us old guys and compare notes on what we will then have both seen and experienced. Until then, what you have is even less than nostalgia, it is biased imagination of what you wish to believe.
What you are overlooking is that the 221 rate today is when cars are nearly impossible to steal, and it's still higher than when it was childishly easy (as in an 8-year-old could do it). Also, auto theft is legally defined differently today. What was then joyriding does not today meet the definition of theft in most states, where theft requires an intent to permanently deprive a rightful owner of property.
When you step back out of your time machine, get together with us old guys and compare notes on what we will then have both seen and experienced. Until then, what you have is even less than nostalgia, it is biased imagination of what you wish to believe.
I may not be the geezer you are but I remember watching the first moon landing. Back then joyriders were more likely to be taken home to their folks and "scared straight" so long as the car wasn't damaged. Bottom line: the theft rate in 1960 was not much less than it is now. Doesn't matter your speculation why. If you think theft is a problem now then it was a problem then. Except maybe then you just weren't aware of it.
Hollywood is FANTASY - created by "artsy" type people who typically have no understanding of anything technical...
With that said, I frequently laugh when watching them hotwire cars or bypass alarm systems - nothing to do with reality. In real life, MUCH more difficult and would take much more time.
A clue is the pop-up screens and noises "Hollywood computers" make. Nothing like any real computer I have ever seen!
Also medical people laugh [cry] at Hollywood medical fantasy...
Well, it's Hollywood, what can you expect? Why is it so easy to hotwire a car in a movie? "Because it's in the script". That's generally the answer to most things Hollywood.
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