2008 Year in Review

PUT YOUR CAR KEYS BESIDE YOUR BED AT NIGHT

This safety tip could be invaluable in a number of emergencies, such as a heart attack, where you cannot reach a phone: put your car keys beside your bed at night. This suggestion came from a Neighborhood Watch coordinator.

The next time you come home for the night and start to put your keys away, think of this: you may be holding a security alarm system that requires no installation. If you hear a noise outside or someone is trying to enter your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be sound. The horn will continue until you turn it off or the car battery dies.

Test it. The alarm will go off from almost everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until you reset it with the button on the key fob. It works if you park in your driveway or garage.

If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the burglar/rapist/vandal will not stick around! After a few seconds, your neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there, and the criminal will not want to be identified.

Remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there.

A wife suggested that her husband carry his car keys with him in case he falls outside, where she can't hear him. He could activate the car alarm to signal her there is a problem. Think about those days ahead of shoveling heavy snow, when heart attack is a real threat. Think about an accident in the garage or workshop.

This easy, cost-free safety alarm suggestion should be shared. Tell your spouse, children, parents, and siblings; your friends and neighbors; your Dr.'s office; the checkout girl at the market--everyone you run across. Perhaps it could save a life or prevent a sexual assault.

by Stephanie A. Vavra, theCity1.com
November 26, 2008