Alarmingly Useless: 
The Case for Banning Car Alarms in New York City

Download the full report in PDF format

Car Alarms and the Law

[ BANNING THEM: LEGALLY ACCEPTABLE | BANNING THEM: TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE | RECOMMENDATIONS ]

New York has tried to rein in car alarms before. Most recently, in 1993 the city amended the noise code to limit audible car alarms to three minutes of noise and to ban the use of motion sensors, the technology responsible for most false alarms. Unfortunately, these laws have not silenced the city's blaring cars. First, they have proved unenforceable. Police are unwilling to stand around timing alarm noises, and they have no way to verify the type of sensor employed. Second, limiting the duration of an alarm does not eliminate its harm. Even an alarm that sounds for a short time can wake up an entire neighborhood, while a single three-minute alarm can go off many times in succession, creating a public nuisance that, in theory, remains legal. Enforcing the current law would still leave the car alarm problem unsolved.

BANNING THEM: LEGALLY ACCEPTABLE

Recognizing the problem with current laws and citizens' overwhelming unhappiness with alarms, New York's City Council members have often expressed a desire to ban car alarms, yet they have always held back. Some have claimed that a ban would be inconsistent with state laws, especially s2337 of the Insurance Code. Others have worried that a ban would be an "unconstitutional infringement on interstate commerce."⁴¹ Neither of these are serious legal arguments. New York City has the authority to ban the sale, use and installation of audible car alarms according to legal experts (see Appendix B). The real issue is political, not legal. It seems that some City Council members are worried about a backlash from taking away the miniscule discount that New York City car owners receive for installing alarms.

BANNING THEM: TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE

Banning alarms in New York City would not be a serious imposition on either drivers or local businesses that install and service car security devices. Aftermarket alarms can be installed to either activate automatically (called "passive arming") or upon pushing a button on the remote ("active arming"). Alarm installers can switch a device from one installation mode to the other in a few minutes, and most offer this service for free. Car owners with existing alarms could easily comply with a ban by putting their alarm into "active arming" and leaving it off while in the city. Alternately, owners could use the "valet switch," which disables even a passively armed alarm.⁴² Drivers with built-in OEM alarms might have a still easier task; some of these alarms go off so rarely that owners could effectively do nothing, and not worry about the ban. Finally, owners could decide to remove their alarms entirely and replace them with something more effective. Since the vast majority of alarm installers already provide other, more effective car security products, their business should not be hurt by a change in law.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Council member John Liu and others introduced a bill in 2000 to prohibit the sale and installation of audible car alarms in the five boroughs (Int 0194-2002). The bill is currently stalled inside the Committee for Environmental Protection chaired by Queens City Council member James Gennaro. T.A. recommends that this bill be moved through the Committee to public hearing. T.A. also recommends that City Council members strengthen the bill by including a complete ban on the usage of audible car alarms in New York City.

Additionally, police officers, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Environmental Protection should be empowered to ticket and tow any motor vehicle with a sounding alarm. If a car alarm complaint is received, but the alarm is silent when the authorities arrive, it should be permissible for an officer to make contact with the car to determine if an alarm is active. To encourage compliance, fines for car alarm violations should be significantly increased, and the sale and installation of audible alarms should be prohibited in New York City.

The city should urge state legislators to eliminate the car alarm discount from New York's Insurance Code for any city with a population greater than one million. For enforcement purposes, the State should add a "noise emissions" test to the annual state automobile inspection process. This test would ensure that any audible alarm can be deactivated by the owner (through use of a "valet mode" or an "active arming" installation), a prerequisite for compliance with the local law. Finally, in accordance with the current noise code, police should retain the right to take reasonable and necessary steps to disconnect any audible alarm while it is sounding.

Appendix A: Car Alarm Noise Cost Model

Appendix B: Legal Authority of New York City to Ban Audible Car Alarms

⁴¹supra n.18

⁴²For a full discussion of installation options, see "To Foil a Car Thief," Consumer Reports, Feb. 1997, pp. 20-24