Follow These 5 Tips to Avoid Locking Your Keys in Your Car

But there are steps that can be taken to reduce the frequency of key-forgetting occurrences.

Many new models of vehicles have dispensed with keys entirely. They now allow drivers to lock and unlock their vehicles just by touching the door handle. If you have the funds to purchase a vehicle with these features, it can help prevent incidents where you lock your keys in your car.

As with most things, there are some drawbacks. Maintenance and repair costs for new vehicles are higher than their analog predecessors because of the complexity of today’s computerized cars, trucks and SUVs. If the locking system does malfunction, you may not be able to call a traditional locksmith to get it open.

There have also been quite a few people injured by modern keyless ignition vehicles, especially hybrids, because drivers forget to turn off their vehicle when they get home. Hybrids run so quietly that some people may not even notice their car is still running when they get out and go inside their home. This can result in carbon monoxide building up in a garage and potentially lead to death or injuries.

If you get into the habit of only locking your doors when you’re outside your vehicle you will prevent anymore instances of locking your cars inside. This can be a hard habit for people to break if they’re used to opening their door, hitting the lock, getting out and closing it. Sometimes, just being more conscious of an action that’s usually reflexive can help prevent incidents of locking one’s keys in the car.

This one is risky, but the fact is most of the time a car is stolen it’s not stolen using a hidden key.

There are number of helpful key hiding tools for vehicles these days. These little ingenious HitchSafes – essentially a miniature safe that slides into the hitch receiver on your truck, van, SUV or car – can easily fit a couple of keys.

There are also a variety of small magnetic key boxes and slips. If you do try to use one of these devices to hide a key on your vehicle, it’s vital to hide it carefully somewhere a potential thief isn’t likely to look and in a secure spot where it won’t fall off when you go over speedbumps or potholes. Right inside the wheel well may not be the best place, but up above a lip at some random point on your chassis should be out of the way enough that someone briefly feeling around won’t be able to grab it right away.

If all else fails, you can attach your car keys to a lanyard or retractable keychain that can clip on to a beltloop so you can wear your keys. This will prevent you from getting out of your car with the keys still in your vehicle’s ignition or on the passenger seat.

Another option is having spare keys made, especially if your vehicle still uses analog locks. You can keep one in your desk at work, in your wallet or purse or give an extra key to a friend. If you do accidentally lock your keys in your vehicle, you’ll have a backup, or at least someone in the vicinity who can bring you a spare set.