> > This may not actually be at all related, but I remember reading somewhere that in some
> > places they have a specific bumper sticker (that says something innocuous like DRIVE
> > SAFELY) that is reserved for people who don't often drive their cars after dark.
> > That way if a cop's on patrol at 2am and he sees a car with this bumper sticker driving
> > around, he knows there's a good chance the car's been stolen.

> Unless I missed something, this is absolutely ridiculous for several reasons.

I may have missed something. It's been a while since I read about it, and I may have got the wrong idea.

> 1. If the car is stolen, wouldn't the thief try to leave town?

Depends on the thief.

> 2. A lot of car thefts happen in broad daylight. The bumper sticker would prove useless
> in these situations.

True, but probably unimportant.
It's not like the cops are going to be relying only on the stickers, even at night. It's just something to bump the percentages up a little bit.

> 3. If enough residents know about this bumper sticker, the thief might also know about it.

He might know that such a bumper sticker exists, but that doesn't mean he'd recognise it if he saw it. Remember, there is nothing about the bumper sticker itself that says "This car may be stolen"; it's just an ordinary bumper sticker.

Paul