Being locked out of your own car is the pits. It's happened to me a few times, even once when I had an interested buyer wanting to take my car for a test drive.
But probably even worse is when you're locked inside your vehicle - and you can't get out. It's a rare occurrence but it does happen, especially with the sophisticated locking systems on many of the newer models.
Take the Alexandra couple who recently had a near-death experience after being imprisoned in their new "keyless" car in their own garage for almost 13 hours. After becoming trapped they attempted to escape by sounding the horn and trying to smash a window with a car jack, with no luck. Fortunately, however, they were freed by neighbours early the following morning after the wife became unconscious and her husband was struggling to breathe. Another half-hour in the car and they could have died.
Brian Smith, who considered himself "very methodical", said he simply could not find the unlocking mechanism. What he failed to do - and is now kicking himself for it - is to unlock the door manually in the normal way, which this car was perfectly capable of doing. Reach for the inside door handle, "click" and the door opens.
Unbelievable as this predicament may sound, in reality it can happen to anyone. The couple were victims of mindset and overlooked the obvious. Indeed, the car salesperson should have made it clear that the doors would still open manually even if the transponder gadget failed to work. But he too would have assumed that the new owners would have realised that.
