If you left your bike on the front lawn would it get stolen?

United States
August 5, 2007 4:27pm CST
Earlier this week, I heard about a little girl's bike that was stolen when she accidentally left it on the front lawn and ran inside for lunch. I guess one of the neighborhood kids decided she didn't need the bike as badly as they did. And, so they took it. That's just my theory, cause they never found the culprit. I've heard from some of my online friends that things like this happen all the time. Rest assured, when my little kid gets old enough to ride a bike, she will not be allowed to leave it outdoors after playtime. I guess some people think that just because something is on public display, then it's free for the taking. And, I guess that is what happens in even the best neighborhood. Crime commutes! Do you think that your bike (or your child's bike) would get stolen if you left it on your front lawn? Do you trust your neighbors or neighborhood's safety enough to keep your garage door unlocked or your riding mower out?
7 people like this
24 responses
@gapeach65 (805)
• United States
5 Aug 07
Over the past couple of years, our neighborhood has seemed to go downhill. My son has a friend who would ride his bike to our house in the morning before school, then they would go to the bus stop together. One day (while I was at the hospital with my mom) I got a phone call from my son asking me what I did with their bikes. I obviously hadn't been home, but even though my mother-in-law was at the house, BOTH bikes were stolen right out of our front yard. I used to tell him that if he didn't bring his bike in, it might get stolen, and it did! He wanted us to buy him a new bike, but we won't right now, there is an older bike at the house that he's using and he brings it in every night. So yes, we if left bikes in our front yard, chances are pretty good that they would get stolen (it's happened to several other children in our neighborhood too). I remember when I was young we never locked our door, now I worry all the time. It's not my neighbors I don't trust, just a few of the "thugs" we've seen in the area.
3 people like this
• Canada
6 Aug 07
I went out one day and left the garage door all the way open. I was gone for 14 hours. I was shocked when I came home to see the door open. Nothing was missing. ON a different occasion a friend stopped by my mother's house. He left his bike by my moms car. He came in the house got a cool drink and walked back out to sit on the front porch. His bike was stolen that fast and no one insight! I don't' like to leave anything laying around outside because you just never know. Have you had anything stolen?
2 people like this
• Philippines
6 Aug 07
same thing happend to a friend's bike, she forgot to lock the back gate, only for about 5 minutes, when she check it out the bike was stolen
1 person likes this
@natrlvr2 (383)
• United States
5 Aug 07
The odds are,no it would not get stolen.I do not lock my gararge or car in my driveway.I do not leave things in my yard overnight though.If my car is not in the garage at night,I will lock it. BUT....I do live right across the street from the local cop.I live in a small town of 1300,very low crime rate.
2 people like this
• United States
5 Aug 07
That is a fortunate coincidence! I lived in a very small town once as well, with about the same number of people. And, we never locked our back door when we left to go shopping. Actually we couldn't lock our back door, we had lost the key to the front door and had no other way to get back into the house! LOL! So, that was our excuse. Now we try to be much more careful.
1 person likes this
@carlaabt (3504)
• United States
5 Aug 07
I'm not sure whether a bike would get stolen if we left it out here or not. I seriously doubt it. We live in such a small town, that someone else would probably recognize it right away as belonging to whoever it was stolen from. We just moved from living on a military base. We could leave stuff out there and no one would have ever even thought about stealing stuff because the consequences are so great. Plus most people know their neighbors on base, so someone would probably notice it if something were to get stolen from their friend's front yard.
2 people like this
• United States
5 Aug 07
You were very fortunate!
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Aug 07
Not so much where we live. It's a safer neighbourhood. We don't have a fence in our yard. My son has a lot of nice outside toys. Not one of them have gone missing.
2 people like this
• United States
5 Aug 07
Even though I think we live in a nice area, I am not sure if I will trust the kids in our neighborhood not to help themselves to my kids toys. You know how kids are. Some just don't know wrong from right. Even if their parents do.
1 person likes this
• China
6 Aug 07
I think may the person was purposive to do it, or may a little children had something urgent, when he found a bike on the lawn, he just rode away. After he dealed with the thing, he decided return the bike back, but he lost the way, or someting like that . Before I had a bike, I just parked it in the front of the building,after I fishish my lunch, it also was stolen, as I did not lock, before I did not lock it for several times, but that time it was unfortunately stolen. I did think no body would like the second hand bike, our teacher told me no, because it was free.
@Darkwing (21583)
6 Aug 07
This wouldn't happen in my village, but it does happen in a lot of places in the UK. My son left his bike chained up at the entrance to Brighton Pier once, and somebody cut the chain and took his bike. He'd saved up and bought it himself too. There are some mean people in this World, who will do anything for a buck, even at other people's expense, my friend. Brightest Blessings.
@KrisNY (7590)
• United States
6 Aug 07
I live in the country- and I know it would not get stolen- Heck I leave my keys in the car at times over night- We never lock the garage up- and we have 4-wheelers and lawnmowers and bikes in there- At night we do lock up- That is one good thing about country living – not as much crime- and I feel safer.
• United States
6 Aug 07
Good question! I once left my halloween candy on the front steps because I had to step out. Someone stole the candy! Several months later I got the bowl back. But stealing a bike is not quite the same. I think it's about 50/50.
2 people like this
@navtech (1773)
• India
6 Aug 07
Dear beautyqueen26, I like bi-cycle. When I was young I used to go to school by bi-cycle. Of all most of transport bi-cycle is my favourite. Since I am heart patient I could not walk more than a mile. In case I continue I would get pain in my heart. Therefore, I started cycling for 3 miles every day. I live an apartment. We used to keep our cycles inside building where you can park 5 cycles. 2 of my brand new cycles were stolen from cycle parking lot. 3 more cycles were also stolen which are belonging to the other apartment resident. We knew who stole our cycles. We could not do anything because we do not have any proof to justify our complaint.
1 person likes this
@tinamwhite (3252)
• United States
6 Aug 07
Where I live we have such a small percent of crimes..3% so I would not worry about a bike...I frequently leave the keys in my truck and many times even my purse except for my credit card when I go inside a store....We rarely ever even close our front door on our home...we sleep without worries...
@miamilady (4910)
• United States
6 Aug 07
Yes. Unfortunately, in my neighborhood, if you leave your bike out it will get stolen. Somtimes it will even be stolen if it's locked up. We've had a couple bikes stolen from us. It sucks. I didn't dwell on it for too long, but it is sad that someone would steal a bike from a kid. How mean is that? Unfortunately it's a fact of life. People steal. If you don't want it stolen, you need to lock it up and put it out of sight.
@DanaMark (807)
• United States
6 Aug 07
We live in a pretty safe community. I trust our neighbors and would not be afraid to let a bike outside for a short time, although I would not leave it out overnight. We always lock our doors and garage door overnight and anytime we are gone. I usually put things away anyway in case it rains.
6 Aug 07
In my town that would never happen...we keep or garage doors open for some time...we live in a large suburban community so it's unusual but i''m not complaining
1 person likes this
@cefaz_21 (2596)
• Philippines
6 Aug 07
I assure you here in my place it will,specially when no one is around. My husband lost his bike months ago and it's inside the yard and we have a gate..what more if he left it outside?
1 person likes this
@youless (112091)
• Guangzhou, China
6 Aug 07
At present stealing bike issues become less. My bike has never been stolen. Maybe I have a good lock for it.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
6 Aug 07
just last week, my little girl's slippers was taken, a little boy took it, but the mother return them after a while, putting them where the boy took it,... i trust my neighbors...they can be trusted... but outside our village... i dont think so... my place is in the middle of another two villages or subdivision, they say theives come from there...
1 person likes this
• United States
6 Aug 07
My neighborhood is pretty safe. Most of us are younger to middle age couples with young children. We all kind of look out for each other. I still would not allow something of value to be left out in the front yard. I do not think my neighbors would take it, but as you said, crime commutes. You just never know who will happen by and see something they think they need more than you do. I think a lot of this comes from when people don't have much to be thankful about, they don't realize how valuable something might be to someone else. For instance, when I was growing up, we were very poor. We never had much of anything that was new. I was so jealous of other people who had cars that were shiny and didn't break down all of the time, I would "accidentally" ding their cars with my door when I got out. I finally realized how wrong I was for doing this when I got a nice car of my own. I didn't know what it was like to have something nice, and I certainly didn't know what it was like to care for a nice possession.
1 person likes this
@MonAmb (126)
6 Aug 07
I am sorry to hear that the thieves would take a small girls bike in your neighbourhood. If i left my bike in my front garden, it would only be a matter of time before somebody tries to steal it, luckily, i am a light sleeper and i hear everything that comes near my garden so i would catch the thieves and teach them a good lesson! I think there are thieves everwhere and if they can get use or money out of your bicycle, they will take it, just like if you left your phone or laptop outside...
1 person likes this
@mistyb (58)
6 Aug 07
i would never dream of leaving my sons bike on my front lawn, id give it 10mins (and that probably too long) b4 it would be gone. I brought my son a junior trampoline for his birthday at weekend and i have visions of waking up and finding that gone (although its quite big considering, but my b/f managed to moved it over our fence (as the idiot put it up on our patio and not on the grassed area of our garden, so its not really that heavy. So everything that moves easily gets locked up in the shed.
1 person likes this