If ever an award were to be given for the world's most idiotic invention, first place would surely have to go to the inventor of the eardrum-piercing, car-horn-honking-door lock.
One can hardly traverse a parking lot these days without being bombarded by a shrill cacophony of piercing horns, ostensibly from misguided miscreants who are haplessly locking their car doors, without a thought to how it it disrupts the otherwise tranquil landscape. What was the inventor thinking, as he put down his half-chewed peanut butter and jelly sandwich?--that there wasn't enough noise in the world? That drivers are too stupid to understand whether or not they've locked their own car doors? That everyone within a 5-block perimeter should be made aware that they've accomplished their Herculean task?
What's next? A siren to signify you've changed the baby's diapers? A foghorn to let everyone know you've successfully dislodged a kernel of corn from your incisors?
I am not saying this merely to gripe about inane human behavior. Nor am I saying this simply because the car horn fiasco is exceedingly annoying--it is. This is also a safety issue of life-threatening proportions. The average person is gradually becoming desensitized to the significance of the car horn and its warnings. (I will never be one of those people, but nevertheless...). The horn was invented to warn people of danger but as it is increasingly being used to inform idiotic drivers that they've locked (or even UNlocked) their car doors, drivers and pedestrians alike are incrementally losing any sense of importance they may once have placed on heeding the horns' warning of potential disaster. If you don't believe me, take a look around the next time some fool lets loose on his car horn and see how few people take notice these days. Next, imagine you are the one honking the horn because an unobservant driver is backing up into your car. Will he take notice of the fact that you are warning him of an impending collision when you lay on your horn, or will he simply assume that you are one in a long line of misguided innocents, blithely locking your car door with a vengeance, as you head off to do some grocery shopping?
What can be done about it? You can refuse to buy, or even rent a car, which provides no easy option for silently locking the doors. Let your state legislators know that drivers are routinely breaking the law, and let the car companies know that their decision to make these abhorrences are in direct violation of the laws of most states. Finally, kindly inform the drivers that all cars come with instructions on how to disable such monstrosities. If they aren't sure how, ask me. I'll be more than happy post the instructions online.
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