Does this sign "Lock It or Lose It" annoy you?

You have a point about more useful messages.

Interesting point you make. Some lots here have signs that say “24 hour surveillance” or that cameras are on the lot, something to that effect.

But, the sign you mention is sort of telling the car owner to remember to lock, and probably anything lost is his own problem, not the owners of the lot.

Lock it or lose it is kind of obnoxious though. Kind of using a catchy phrase with the threat of being robbed. Eh, I’d rather have a more straight forward reminder I think to lock my car or secure my things.

There’s a sign in a parking lot in Vancouver which reads, “This lot is under continual surveillance.” I called the company to tell them that their message means, “we check on a periodic basis” rather than what they really mean, “we check non-stop,” which would be continuous surveillance. They not only didn’t change the sign or thank me, they acted like I was out of my mind and dismissed me rudely as a waste of their time. So no, I’m not surprised your sign. Parking lot operators seem to be total dicks.

I agree with you, the ‘threat” should be made toward the criminal, not the legitimate user of the parking lot.

I thought it was a way for the property owner to remind people that if things go missing from their unlocked car, it’s their own fault.

I don’t find it to be a big deal. You should lock your car if you park it in a city. The lot owners don’t want to be held responsible for someone getting shit stolen out of their car while it was parked in their lot, so it makes sense. I don’t think the wording or phrase matters that much, it’s the message, which is true.

I’ve never seen this sign before, but it actually came across to me as them saying “our parking lot attendants are thieves, and will rob all unlocked cars just to prove to you how stupid it is to not lock your car”. So, I can’t say I’m a fan…

It is a very common sign here and you notice I said public parking lots meaning owned by the city. It is also stuck on parking meters. Frequently in the paper there will be an article regarding a spate of thefts or other illegal activity and again the police are quoted as warning innocents to lock their houses or cars or whatever. I wish instead they would threaten the criminals with restitution.

So I don’t think responsibility for compensation is the reason.

I think the powers that be think it’s clever and will be noticed, like “click it or ticket” to remind you to use seat belts. Slogans rule as far as they are concerned. They the public is stupid. Would you prefer, “Did you lock your car?”

Thanks to the need to be (protected) from ourself or oneself the loss of real freedom is insidious. The ability for our community to be self determining is a threat to power holders
so when you see the littlest infringer you know that It’s wrong but to complain over it seems to be futile or incidentally wasteful of the energy required. Like flying in every decreasing circles till you see yourself ahead

Could be the parking lot is relieving itself from liability by warning you to lock your stuff. By warning you they can claim they warned you. [Not the greatest example but…] Take the Brian Stow beating at Dodger Stadium for example. He is suing the Dodgers because they failed to provide adaquate protection for him. Had the Dodgers put up signs something to the effect of “We’re not responsible for drunk thugs beating people up…”, maybe they would be less liable.

I never really thought of it until now….huh.
I am more of the do and die type. I’d love for a sign to read, if caught stealing from this vehicle you will be stabbed to death brutally and tossed in a never ending pit of darkness.
The lock it or lose it thing is just a preventive. Locks don’t really stop criminals, they only deter the ones that don’t know what they are doing.

@graynett – you lost me, does that mean you think the sign is annoying or not?

Lots of parking lots don’t have good surveillance or security, and opportunistic car thieves do usually get away without being caught. I can imagine signs addressing potential thieves would be very off-putting to your ordinary carpark users.

I don’t see it as a threatening sign. It’s short and memorable, and gets the message across. Plus, it’s true: “Lock it or lose it (because if it gets stolen, neither your nor our insurance will cover it, and we and the police have very limited capabilities to retrieve your car and/or its contents)”

@iphigeneia – that is an interesting response. I personally found it very off-putting being advised that criminals are lurking about and the local police are not interested or don’t have the manpower to try to control them, instead I should do it myself. Certainly doesn’t make me feel very safe leaving my car there or accessing it after dark.

@rooeytoo I guess you could take that approach as well. My perspective is I’d feel more comfortable with a sign I believed, rather than “stealing from this car will land you in jail”. Signs warning about security measures (that are tight enough to act as a deterrent) would be best, though.

I agree…it’s like blaming the victim instead of the criminal.

The sign I see all the time is “click it or ticket”.. how does that make you feel? ;)

That isn’t really comparable @greenergrass.

“Click it or ticket” is a warning to you not to break the law.
“Lock It or Lose It” is a threat to an innocent person that they are responsible for the criminal’s actions.

@wilma – exactly, it is warning the perp not the victim! Completely acceptable to me.

It doesn’t annoy me but I understand your point. We have a sign at work that says Warning: Theives operate in this area. It’s just a reminder that no place is safe from crime and to make sure we lock our offices etc

The lock it our lose it sign is pointless to me because everyone I know who have had things stolen from their car did lock it. Their windows were smashed in order for anything inside to be stolen.

@rooeytoo Sorry I was not clear, I hate the loss of freedom in any form and It’s the small “blame the victim” type of loss that irritate me. My wife makes me live in a fortress type mentality, in locking every thing, including my mind. That to fight it, is demoralising