Everyday Post

You hear them at night at 2 a.m…..the wailing sound of a car alarm. Maybe an auto burglar chose the wrong vehicle to break in.

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, 1.3 million motor vehicles are stolen annually in the United States at a cost of more than $7 billion. To help prevent becoming a victim of this type of crime, it is best to use some sort of car alarm to help prevent the theft of your motor vehicle.

Many late-model vehicles come with their own integral security features which include power locks to GPS devices. If you are a newbie to car alarms, the following is a list of features you should consider when shopping for a car alarm:

• Keyless entry device. This tool allows you to unlock your vehicle doors and/or trunk using a remote control. Most keyless entry devices are part of a basic alarm system.
• Interior/exterior sensors. These are sensors that are designed to detect motion whenever somebody steps into your motor vehicle.
• Dual-stage sensor. These are sensors that act as triggers that activate an alarm. They are normally connected to your doors, hood, and trunk. Some car alarms include sensors that detect a window-break. A dual-stage sensor triggers a fast series of beeps if the car is partially jolted. However, the alarm will engage the full-stage siren sounds if the car is repeatedly jolted. This is the kind of sensor that helps avoid those false alarms that keep us up at night.
• Remote starting and stopping. These remote control devices will start your vehicle’s engine from more than 500 feet away. You can also purchase them with an engine-stopping feature. By activating the engine-stopping feature, you cut off fuel flow to the engine, disengage the electrical circuit to the starter, or inactivate some other feature to prevent the vehicle’s engine from turning over.

Most of these options are available when you buy a new car. If you already have a car that does not have an alarm and would like to buy an after-market car alarm, it should cost you less than $300 including installation. These may be additional expenses for your vehicle, but it will save you the hassle of having to deal with a stolen car.

If you live on a farm somewhere out in the boonies, there are some special safety concerns that you should be aware of. Crops, costly farm tools, and livestock can be the focus for potential thieves. Not only that, vandals can make it their leisure time to destroy such things in a short amount of time. The following is a checklist to determine if you are likely to be a victim of theft or vandalism

• Are the farmyard areas and external sides of the buildings well-lit at night?
• Are all the fences in good, working order or in need of repair?
• Are all your farm tools and equipment marked with identification numbers or serial numbers?
• Do you count your livestock on a regular basis?
• Do you have less than five people working for you throughout the year?
• Do you conduct background checks on your employees prior to employing them on your farm?
• Do you lock up the storage sheds and grain bins at night?
• Do the access roads have gates?
• Does each of your livestock have tattoos?
• Is all of the farm equipment, big and small, locked up at night?

No doubt it is a bigger responsibility to maintain home security on your own farm than it is if you owned your own house. Nevertheless, personal safety and home security measures should not be overlooked when living on a farm. You should observe all these tips when safeguarding your farm and the other property you have. By doing so, you make it difficult for a thief to steal your property or a vandal to destroy it.

You worked hard for your farm tools and your crops.  It only makes sense to take the time to lock up your personal property to thwart or prevent the potential for any crime to occur.