Parked in Your Driveway Do You Lock Car ?

[Kassaundra]

Never lock my car in my driveway. I am spoiled living in a very safe (for this world) area, small town, not on a through street, good neighbors, etc.... We have lived here nearly 20 years and never had any theft problems, even though my husband leaves his tools at times out where he was working on something.

 

[Nyboy]

Kassaundra I thought the same, over 30 years never a theft.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

In our neighborhood there are metal mail stations, for 12 homes and 2 lockable package spots. We each have a key to get our mail from our particular box. My Mother, in a very high income neighborhood in the SF Bay Area, had their entire mail station stolen. In the middle of the night someone brought along some sort of saw that can cut thru metal, and sawed off the entire station from the metal post. It took the USPS 2 months to replace it.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Yes, we lock our cars, key AND electric lock. Heck thanks to my family (see below) I arm the alarm lock the car even if it is parked and I am STILL in IT (say mom is running a quick errand) And bear in mind that, as I don't drive myself, I don't have a key to any of the cars so turning on the alarm basically means I'm locked inside until they get back) since in my mind, the inconvenience of not being able to leave the car is worth not making it any easier for anyone who decides I look inoffensive enough to make cark jacking a viable option.

I also will not leave the house without my phone keys and wallet (even if I know I'm not going to be doing anything that would require me to pay) That includes just stepping out to go check on the garden. Of course, this has less to do with any paranoia of my own than my mom's habit of not checking to see if anyone is outside before shutting all the doors and then going somewhere in the house that is out of earshot of the doorbell.

But I think my dad has you friend trumped, canesisters. He won't leave his bedroom without wallet keys etc. He puts them in his pockets to go down to the kitchen!

And the worst part is their fear is beginning to spread to me. A few months ago I almost had a panic attack when we were about to leave on some errands and I saw I had left one of the windows in my bedroom open (glass part, screen was still down). Bear in, mind that my bedroom is on the second floor, so that window is about 30 feet straight up. So in order to break in someone would have to sneak a 40 foot ladder into our backyard, place it on the patio climb it, ram their way through the screen (and as you will see, all of our screens are kept in VERY good repair) crawl through (tough to do when you are standing on a ladder) try and avoid breaking your arms (the window is right in front of the radiator so you're pretty much guaranteed to have the cover fall over and bang your arms or legs on the pipes. THEN get out of the room. With MY room I don't even have the normal excuse for fear; that the cat will come in, sit in the window well, see a bird try and attack it, punch her way through the screen, and go plummeting out. My room latches from both sides, and the cat can't get in. I've just caught the family paranoia. To use an old Oz (book series, not Australia) reference, I've become a citizen of Flutterbudget Central!

 

[Nyboy]

Last week when out running errands, I had panic attack and had to come home, because I didn't have my cell on me. I kept telling myself I have lived most of my life withou one, a hour will be ok. Nope had to go home and get it.

 

[goatgurl]

country boys playing bash the mailbox is why i have a po box. that and the fact that i shared a mailbox with someone else and when they picked up the mail they would forget to give mine to me. grrrr