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WelbyQuentin

A strange Parking Lot/Vehicle question - - -



For someone who has a Startle Reaction and who also tends to Overthink  - -  why do vehicles need a loud "horn announcement" simply to tell the owner that the vehicle is locked?

I drive carefully, and walk defensively, in parking lots --  countless times I hear horns beeping and immediately think "Whoa! I'm going to hit someone!" Or, "Am I walking into the path of someone's driving?"

And, lo - - someone simply locked their vehicle.




Lost In Car Park Stock Photo - Download Image Now - Parking Lot, Men, Confusion - iStock

Posted - May 29, 2023
Tags : None

Responses


  • 5451
    It’s the default setting but on my husband’s car and on our van the horn beep when locking the car with the key fob can be turned off.  The beep is just useful if you’re a long way from your car and you wonder if you forgot to lock it.
      May 29, 2023 9:06 AM MDT
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  • 23577
    Thanks, Livvie, that all does make sense.  :)

    I also admit that people can benefit with the exercise and just walk back to the vehicle and check, rather than the beeps, ha. (And I am also one who misses "rolling the car window down" instead of pushing a button and "manually pushing down the 'lock'-lever on my car, ha)
      May 29, 2023 10:08 AM MDT
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  • 17596
    It's a very short beep which pretty much distinguishes it from a get out of my way beep.      As far as I know horns have no volume control.  My little Korean-made car has such a soft and sweet little beep no one pays any attention to it. 
      May 29, 2023 11:00 AM MDT
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  • 23577
    That's true, the beep is short. But then, Overthinking Me can think, "Who just beeped 'Hi!' to me, and I missed seeing the person, and they now could be mad at me."

    Ha.


    Your comment about no one paying attention to your  "Polite, Excuse Me" horn made me smile.  :)
      May 29, 2023 12:04 PM MDT
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  • 844
    People also use them to locate their car parked in a large busy parking lot. If you've ever watched "Parking Wars", people also use them to locate their car at a large impound lot.
      May 29, 2023 3:14 PM MDT
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  • 23577
    I've not watched that show. If my car were impounded, yeah, finding it with the beep makes sense.
    However, before these devices, how did the world's drivers ever remember where they parked without that beep? Ha.
    I've not yet lost my car in a parking lot. :)
      May 29, 2023 6:58 PM MDT
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  • 844
    Back in olden times, we used our feet and eyes to find a parked car. It was a big help if there was more than one occupant when parked.
      May 30, 2023 9:12 AM MDT
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  • 23577
    I feet-and-eye it, yup.
      May 30, 2023 3:35 PM MDT
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  • 10052
    I try to notice the click that my car makes on the first press of the key fob, but I sometimes don't and then I'll give it a second go to be sure I've locked it and it does honk. 

    More often than not, I use it to find my car in the parking lot, as NYAD describes. It's probably no surprise that I often don't pay attention to where I've parked. ;) 

    This post was edited by SavvyAnsley at May 30, 2023 8:01 PM MDT
      May 29, 2023 4:29 PM MDT
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  • 13277
    fab fob
      May 29, 2023 5:55 PM MDT
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  • 23577
    I guess I've always paid attention to where I park.  :)

    Yet, after pressing the button on the key thing, I also still doublecheck with my hands to see if my car is actually locked, ha.  :)
      May 29, 2023 7:00 PM MDT
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  • 10052
    I think I did pay more attention before key fobs were a thing. At least I now make a note of the level and section when I'm in a multi-level garage. 

    I sometimes lock my car and when I come out discover that I've left the windows down. :)

    At least none of this type of inattention/forgetfulness is new to me. If it were, I'd worry about early-onset dementia! ;) 

     
      May 30, 2023 8:15 PM MDT
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  • 23577
    I can be scattered-brained sort of often, always have been. (Not to say leaving a window open is scattered-brained, ha).
      June 1, 2023 5:40 AM MDT
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  • 13277
    Sort of often? As opposed to just often? Is that anything like sort of pregnant or a little bit pregnant?
      June 1, 2023 5:43 AM MDT
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  • 23577
    Ha.  :)

    Sort of often,  as in "sort of," as far as my thinking. "Sort of" can invade my interpretation of a word's definition, ha.
      June 1, 2023 5:48 AM MDT
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  • 23577
    [ I just locked my car doors and found out the back windows were down.  :)  ]
      June 1, 2023 12:53 PM MDT
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  • 23577
    And the parking lots in which I usually park are usually not very large.
      May 30, 2023 3:36 PM MDT
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  • 10052
    That's certainly helpful! 
      May 30, 2023 8:16 PM MDT
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  • 23577
    Yes!  :)
      June 1, 2023 5:38 AM MDT
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  • 34272
    I always make the short beep for locking the car. 
    I normally do not need to use it to kind the car as we tend to park in the same general area in places we go frequently.  
    But I have lost my car in the parking lot before with no fob to cause a beep. Very annoying to walk the entire lot and still not find your car. 
      May 31, 2023 6:53 AM MDT
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  • 23577
    Sudden noises of any kind get to me at times, ha. 
    I guess if I parked enough in large lots, I'd use it, too.
    Parking in large lots is something I don't do often.
    I guess I still prefer just the older push-down-the-lock-lever-on-top-of-the-car-door.  :)
      June 1, 2023 5:44 AM MDT
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  • 13277
    I use Uber. Parking problem solved.
      June 1, 2023 5:44 AM MDT
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  • 23577

    That's true.  :)  :)

    Except, for me, I'd still be walking in the lot and hear the beeps and wonder if someone may be honking a beep-Hello at me and I missed it.  :) This post was edited by WelbyQuentin at June 2, 2023 6:05 AM MDT
      June 1, 2023 12:53 PM MDT
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  • 3719
    Interesting....

    I have never encountered that so perhaps manufacturers are not allowed to fit it for UK sales.

    My car emits a hefty mechanical "clunk" as the locks actuate, and flashes the indicators once. The latter at least seems the most common locking / unlocking signal.
      June 18, 2023 4:41 PM MDT
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