The inline fuse does help, particularly if it is installed close to the battery. I remember an event that I had many years ago, when I had a cellphone installed in my car (Remember those?). The installer ran the power wire under my dashboard in the area of the foot operated parking brake, forgetting that I might actually want to apply the brake sometime in the future. I drove the car home from the installation, and parked it on a hill. I stepped on the parking brake, heard a loud FZZZZT, and my car filled with black smoke. I wisely decided to exit the vehicle and let the smoke clear. The section of the power line between it's origin and it's inline fuse had burned completely away. Fortunately, the car did not have any significant damage...