Date:         Sun, 8 Apr 2007 20:31:50 -0400
Reply-To:     Joy Hecht <hecht.joy@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joy Hecht <hecht.joy@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Are they still making the bus/Vanagon anywhere these days?
In-Reply-To:  <71d9cdf90704081713qc97e1c4l6b8616d4c190257f@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Well that just sounds like survival of the fittest at work.  How dumb can
you get?  And of course when the cars get stolen I'm sure they totally deny
that they left the key in the ignition and walked away. 



Joy
________________________________________
From: Jake de Villiers [mailto:crescentbeachguitar@gmail.com] 
Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2007 8:14 PM
To: Joy Hecht
Cc: vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com
Subject: Re: Are they still making the bus/Vanagon anywhere these days?

Around here, in the Canadian municipality with the highest auto theft rate, 
people leave their cars running with their $200 anti-theft keys in the
ignition while they make a moccachino at the corner gas station.  

I can't see the key making any difference!

As with air bags, another major insurance company initiative, the cost of
taking the responsibility out of the driver's hands and putting it into the
regulators' is not an easy thing to measure. 

When I was a kid, the cars were weak and the drivers were adequate, but it
seems that nowadays the cars are really advanced and driver training hasn't
kept up.  I hear at least twice a week about a 'rollover' on Hwy 1 outside
of Vancouver and I'd swear that I never heard of a single one from
1971-1999.  

Call me cranky, but I'm blaming video games and weak licensing/enforcement
regimes for the dumbing down of modern drivers.

Jake

On 4/8/07, Joy Hecht <hecht.joy@gmail.com> wrote:
Is there any evidence as to whether those "smart keys" actually reduce auto
theft?

I don't much like them either - but presumably the insurance companies, ever
mindful of their bottom lines, save money if we have to buy them, hence 
their interest in pushing for such legislation.  If they really do
significantly reduce the chances of theft, then I suppose I don't really
mind paying for the key.  It is better than the major hassle of having the 
car stolen!


Joy