Why are people putting car headrest covers with faces on these days?

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Adorable_Past9114@reddit

Did it possibly originate in the USA with single occupant cars trying to use the car share lane

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Actual-Morning110@reddit

to deter special group of humans from carjacking. Or to deter sniper thinking owner is still inside stitting still.

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JBEqualizer@reddit

I'm not sure why it would deter carjacking? The whole point in carjacking is that you take a car with someone already in it and it's not really a widespread issue in the UK anyway.

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Jebusura@reddit

You are so confidently wrong about that but go on, why do they need to have someone in the car when they take it?

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JBEqualizer@reddit

Please explain how I'm "confidently wrong"? The dictionary definition of carjacking is stealing or commandeering an occupied car.

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Jebusura@reddit

Yeah it has to be occupied so the keys are in there. They don't want the occupants

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petiweb5@reddit

How does it deter car jacking? After 2 seconds, it's obvious that it's just a cover.

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cochlearist@reddit

How does it deter snipers for that matter?

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You don't go closer to inspect, if it looks like someone's in the car... sort of theory... tbh prob would have worked a cpl of years ago , but since everyone's doing it, doubt it is nearly as efficient.

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AllThatIHaveDone@reddit

How would that deter a sniper? 🤔

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senecauk@reddit

Surely that'd encourage the sniper

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The_Blip@reddit

[You see it takes about three and a half seconds to reload and trace another target. Which gives me an adequate window to fire off a couple rounds. Pure business.](https://youtu.be/mpC_hO15IoA)

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Unusefulness01@reddit

Ok Mr Sniper

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AllThatIHaveDone@reddit

Snipin's a good job, mate! It's challengin' work, outta doors. I guarantee you'll not go hungry - 'Cause at the end of the day, long as there's two people left on the planet, someone is gonna want someone dead.

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Albert_Herring@reddit

If there's two people left on the planet, you're going to have to shoot your only remaining client? Doesn't sound like good business to me.

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Conveth@reddit

I wouldn't call them special: I'd call them a subset, *sub* being the important part of that.

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Actual-Morning110@reddit

specially skilled - self taught. There's no course for that.

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techbear72@reddit

Not nationwide, but some people, especially women and younger women use them to make it appear people are with them in the car so that they feel safer and get hassled less by men (note: not all men, obviously).

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velos85@reddit

Feel safer to not get harassed in a car they are not sat in? What are you talking about?

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techbear72@reddit

It's for when they **are** travelling, obviously, but why bother take it off when not in the car?

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velos85@reddit

Why is there one on the drivers seat?

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Super-Nuntendo@reddit (OP)

Actually yes, I've seen them on both the passenger and driver seat headrest. Presumably so when it's parked up and empty, it looks like 2 crazy dudes sitting in the front or something

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techbear72@reddit

Weird.

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techbear72@reddit

I don't see OP say there were, but if there were, I don't know why. Not me doing it.

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Tofru@reddit

Bullshit

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tiorzol@reddit

Yea I don't fall for and still harass them too.

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DeapVally@reddit

People used to put eyelashes on their headlights, or the old furry dice around the rear-view mirror, or how truckers deck their cabs out with lights. It's just a thing people do to their vehicles for their own enjoyment 🤷🏼‍♂️

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dbltax@reddit

It's been going on for years. It is to the 20s what those plastic fingers sticking out of a car boot were in the 80s.

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Flat_Development6659@reddit

It's just funny to give someone a random fright, it's not a new thing at all I remember seeing these years ago. In my first corporate job they had loads of masks of that dude from Deal or No Deals face on it, no idea why but they were getting handed out at some event. The following few months the company car park was full of these on the passenger headrests of people's cars.

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wendelfong@reddit

It's definitely a big thing now though whereas it sounds like it was just the nerds in your company before.

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Flat_Development6659@reddit

Might be dependant on region, I remember seeing this when I was a teenager too (when scream masks were first a big thing on Halloween) yet very rarely see it any more so from my perspective it was a big thing before and has gone down in popularity since.

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-Rhymenocerous-@reddit

Some people do it for the +2 only lanes.

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tiorzol@reddit

Is this a thing in the UK?

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Billy_Daftcunt@reddit

Not really, there are a couple in Leeds and Bristol [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/know-your-traffic-signs/miscellaneous-signs](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/know-your-traffic-signs/miscellaneous-signs)

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aukwaggish@reddit

Oh do we have those in the UK? I don’t drive so I’m out of the loop!

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r_keel_esq@reddit

I think there's one near Bristol, not aware of any others

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sideone@reddit

There's a few in and around Bristol, but seemingly not policed at all.

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Civil-Selection4622@reddit

I’m fairly sure there is one in Leeds. Not full time operation though kinda like a bus lane can use it certain hours unrestricted

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WorhummerWoy@reddit

We don't have those in the UK do we? I know we tried it a few years back, but as far as I know nothing came of it.

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Rymundo88@reddit

I know of one on the A47 Heartlands Park in Birmingham. Only road I've ever seen one on so far

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SarkyMs@reddit

This was my first thought

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speedloafer@reddit

This has been asked several times on Reddit. Some of the reasons are to stop potential theft at night, security to make it look like you are not travelling alone, its a trend, its a young person thing, to fool speed cameras/car pool cameras. There is no one reason, its a worldwide thing and its been happening for years.

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chrisl182@reddit

People keep saying this but how is it possibly working?? Thief is eyeing up cars, sees a car with a balaclava on the headrest and thinks "shit, a person...oh no wait, it's just a balaclava, nobody is in that car, I'll break into it". Same as cardboard cutouts of police officers in shop windows...

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Desperate_Contact561@reddit

A cardboard Police Officer is known to reduce shoplifting... they've even shown that just having an image of eyes makes you think you are being watched and reduces shoplifting. Anything that may reduce your risk is worth doing, especially as it is inexpensive.

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speedloafer@reddit

A thief is in a strange street at night where they are trying their best to stay hidden, they see in the distance what looks like somebody in a car and they know if just one person on this road sees their face then everybody will know who the car thief is so the thief avoids the car they either turn around or cross the road with their head down moving on. That's the thinking, I'm not saying it works by the way but that is the thinking.

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j7seven@reddit

It's just enough of a reminder that you might be being watched to sow a seed of doubt. I'm sure I read somewhere about that being sufficient to tip the balance in a big enough percentage of cases that is worth the cost of a cardboard cutout.

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yorkspirate@reddit

I'm sure the cardboard cutouts have been proven to lower crime in certain areas. If a balaclava or mask on a headrest makes the owner feel safer then it's working plus it might actually make the more opportunistic thief stay away as at first glance it fools them

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Lopsided-Camel1114@reddit

Because tik tok told them they need it.

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Super-Nuntendo@reddit (OP)

This is likely the answer

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D-B0IIIIII@reddit

Cause it's well hard and cool

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Weaubleau@reddit

Car pool lanes?

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Tideripper98@reddit

That's exactly why. It's to try and scare off potential thieves or vandals.

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rustynoodle3891@reddit

w it's not a craze. B it's cunts

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tiorzol@reddit

Reeee people have fun can't have that the cunts.

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Key_Dragonfruit_2492@reddit

Tricks facial recognition cameras

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powpow198@reddit

Surely only if someone is wearing the mask over their own face?

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Baggins_1420@reddit

When serving in Army in Germany in 80s, one of the lads used to put the knickers of the wife he’d shagged, whilst her husband was away, on his passenger headrest.

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Ok-Wrongdoer7250@reddit

So that they can claim they are allowed to go in the 2 plus lanes??

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Maleficent_Fee8889@reddit

Everyone has a different sense of humour, the type of people who laugh at videos of elderly people slipping on icy steps also find this kind of thing funny.

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National-Cupcake-989@reddit

I’ve noticed them too seems like a mix of novelty and prank vibes Probably to make it look like someone’s in the car or just for laughs.

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Rossaboy77@reddit

Its just people having a laugh. Not much more to it.

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DameKumquat@reddit

Cos it's funny. There used to be one with the Queen and Prince Philip near me.

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EvilTaffyapple@reddit

Because not everyone is miserable

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