Keyless entries lead to more lockouts
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 | posted by: Beth
My best friend Mitzi called me in a panic this past summer. While attempting to open the back seat to the stroller out, her toddler locked himself in the car from the inside using the keyless entry. An hour later, the fire trucks had arrived, and Caden was sweating and no longer having fun rifling through the car’s contents while his mother looked on. He laid back in his car seat and cried. Right before a fireman was about to take an ax to the windshield, the locksmith arrived on the scene.
It can happen to anyone at anytime. In fact, calls for vehicle lockout assistance have increased significantly since the 1980’s creating frustration for millions of vehicle owners and potentially dangerous situations for small children and pets. In 1980, lockouts represented just 1.4% of the total requests for service. At present, lockouts now represent 16.9% of the total overall call volume in North America. This past year alone, AAA responded to nearly 5 million stranded motorists who either left their car keys inside the passenger compartment or in their trunk, or misplaced their car keys altogether. One of the causes for such a sharp increase, says AAA, may be the vehicles’ own anti- theft systems.
With shopping bags in hand, strollers to load and children to mind, chances are even greater that this could happen to you. To help reduce the number of motorists stranded due to a vehicle lockout this winter, try creating new habits:
- Always make sure you have your keys in hand when exiting the vehicle, closing trunk or locking the car whether the vehicle has manual or automatic door locks.
- Keep a plastic, credit-card type key of spare key in your wallet, purse or briefcase.
- Never place your keys on the front seat, in the glove compartment, trunk or anywhere else in the vehicle.
- Try putting your keys in your shirt or pants pockets instead of jackets, if you must.
- Never leave your vehicle running and unattended, even during short periods of time.
- Keep the identification code of your keys written down on a piece of paper in your wallet or store it in your cell phone or PDA.
- Give an extra set of keys to a trusted family member of friend who is traveling with you.
- Keep a spare set of keys at work or a place that you visit frequently.
- Never leave children or pets unattended in the vehicle with access to keys.
- Take the key out of the ignition prior to fueling your gas tank.
- Keep the identification code number of the key written down on a piece of paper in your wallet. It will be easier to have a copy of the key made by a locksmith.
Sources: AAA, roadandtravel.com
