Attempted Robbery

[Mr E]

Well, from an ambulance point of view, we don't carry anything to break into a car......other than kicking the window in, and even then, will the door open if it is deadlocked?

I've got a lifehammer as part of the responder kit I was issued with... but never had reason to use it as the Fire Station is only 2 mins from where I live and I've not been to an RTC where they were not called out as well.

WRT deadlocks - my experience with these is that they are operated from outside the vehicle (e.g. a second press of the "lock" button on the remote, or only by the key/remote) and not by the internal (manual or auto) lock.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I've got a lifehammer as part of the responder kit I was issued with... but never had reason to use it as the Fire Station is only 2 mins from where I live and I've not been to an RTC where they were not called out as well.

A lifehammer might also be useful should security and personal safety be compromised.

 

[JumboBeef]

That's shocked me slightly - are paramedics different?

How do you know I'm not a paramedic? I've only ever said I work on A&E ambulances, not what my job title is (or isn't).

 

[Apial]

I can't see the problem with autolocking. If I have an accident that triggers the airbags, then the doors auto-unlock, the hazard lights flash, and the fuel pump cuts out.

Why would anyone want to lock the doors when it is travelling faster than 20mph to prevent a robbery? How fast can robbers run? And then to unlock the door when travelling less than 20mph, why?

 

[219]

I can't see the problem with autolocking. If I have an accident that triggers the airbags, then the doors auto-unlock, the hazard lights flash, and the fuel pump cuts out.

Perhaps these things ought to happen .

What if these systems are damaged in the crash and you become trapped ?

Autolocking ? No thanks , I prefer to choose whether my doors are locked or unlocked .

 

[Roger Jones]

On day 2 with my newly acquired R129 I was locked out, I think because of its Automatic Locking When Driving feature. I got out of the car with the engine running and shut the door, and it locked. Aside from the inconvenience of having to wait two hours for a breakdown service to get me in (the first time I've had to call anyone out in 30 years), it reminded me that I have never liked the idea of locked doors while driving, for reasons similar to those Pontoneer has offered, and I RTFM'd and turned the feature off. It is supposed to turn itself off in the event of a serious collision.

Whether this incident was simply a malfunction of the system, I have yet to discover.

 

[Lugy]

I normally drive with just the drivers door open, IE one press of the button, normally because I forget to open all the doors. I have thought about activating the door locked in D mode thingy though. It'd be ideal for going in to town to see the old dear.

Why would anyone want to lock the doors when it is travelling faster than 20mph to prevent a robbery? How fast can robbers run? And then to unlock the door when travelling less than 20mph, why?

To prevent people getting out mistakenly would be my guess. Kids like door handles

 

[Jerrytommygal1]

I had a similar incident happen to me about 4 years ago. Some thief opened my passenger door as I was joining a roundabout. It was dark and everything happened so fast.

What helped me was my jacket covering my bag so he got confused and couldn't find it. I quickly swayed the car and off he scampered.

What didn't help me was the interior lights automatically coming on because a door has been opened. I realised this is what gave the thief an advantage.

Since then I NEVER have the interior lights automatically switched on when a car door is opened. If I need to use them, I switch them on manually and switch them off right after.

I also have my car door automatically lock at 15km/h. That day, I forgot to lock the doors because I was in a hurry to get home.

The whole experience is not one I'd care to repeat.

 

[219]

I normally drive with just the drivers door open, IE one press of the button, normally because I forget to open all the doors. I have thought about activating the door locked in D mode thingy though. It'd be ideal for going in to town to see the old dear.



To prevent people getting out mistakenly would be my guess. Kids like door handles

My 1963 Fintail has childproof locks in the rear , my Ponton does not : therefore every Mercedes from the 1960's onwards has had this feature . I remember my parents having the rear doors set this way when I was a child .

In my older cars which don't have central locking , it is normal to just unlock the doors you are using .

 

[dervdoc]

nasty!woman over here got her handbag stole which was on the floor in a toilet cubical in an M&S toilet, by time she got out theif was away, reported it to M&S and police, 2 days later she was phoned by M&S customer services saying her bag had turnrd up, she went to lift it, customer services knew nothing of any bag being found, she went home to an empty house, was theif had made call and robbed her house when she went to see about it, plenty of scum about the country still!!!!!

 

[JumboBeef]

nasty!woman over here got her handbag stole which was on the floor in a toilet cubical in an M&S toilet, by time she got out theif was away, reported it to M&S and police, 2 days later she was phoned by M&S customer services saying her bag had turnrd up, she went to lift it, customer services knew nothing of any bag being found, she went home to an empty house, was theif had made call and robbed her house when she went to see about it, plenty of scum about the country still!!!!!

If you've had your keys stolen, along with ID, surely the first thing you would do is to change the locks?

 

[timskemp]

My Rover (BMW electronics) had auto-lock and I can confirm that activating the airbags also unlocks the doors and activates the hazard warning lights.

I'd go with locked doors, in the event of an accident the glass isn't that big an obstacle, and you can't deadlock the doors with the keys in the ignition.

 

[Dryce]

nasty!woman over here got her handbag stole which was on the floor in a toilet cubical in an M&S toilet,

snopes.com: Purse Theft Burglary

 

[lynall]

Years ago i remember driving down a 4 foot hole in my 1993 disco and coming to a very abrupt stop, the doors auto unlocked the hazards went off and if it was posh enough to have them i am sure the air bags would have gone off!

Engage reverse and off we go again albeit with a slightly bent chassis.

Glad to hear all okay , both mine and the wifes car are set to autolock and both cars have a life hammer.



Lynall

 

[JumboBeef]

I have a problem with auto-anything on a car, to be frank.

Most car drivers (and I'm not pointing the finger at anyone here, but just drivers in general) seem to drive around with their eyes closed most of the time. What happened to good observations?

You should be aware of your surroundings and your vehicle at all times: if you need your doors to auto-lock, then you are not. Drive into a dodgy area of town, then you can lock your doors. Drive out of town, then unlock them. You should operate all the functions on your car correctly depending on the ever changing changing road and traffic environment.

It is the same as knowing when to use your lights or wipers

You can always tell a driver with poor/lazy observations: they are the ones who always use their indicators, without fail, without looking to see if they will benefit anyone.

 

[raymont]

You can always tell a driver with poor/lazy observations: they are the ones who always use their indicators, without fail, without looking to see if they will benefit anyone.

Are you saying you never ever fail to see someone who would benefit from knowing what you are about to do? 100% infallibility? Could it not happen that you check, decide not to indicate because there is no one to benefit and then, a second later, there is someone but, because you do not have the ability to simultaneously look in all directions, you don’t see them?

Surely it must be safer to indicate whether you can see someone or not? Does not mean you are not concentrating. Perhaps it means you have more concentration left to apply to the driving task as you are not constantly worrying about whether to indicate or not because someone might have appeared since you last looked. Agree you should be aware that the situation has changed, but can you really be 100% certain that you don’t need to indicate?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

You can always tell a driver with poor/lazy observations: they are the ones who always use their indicators, without fail, without looking to see if they will benefit anyone.

Playing devils advocate: if you're able to see someone is using their indicators, maybe they saw you and thought you might benefit from their intentions?

 

[JumboBeef]

Are you saying you never ever fail to see someone who would benefit from knowing what you are about to do? 100% infallibility? Could it not happen that you check, decide not to indicate because there is no one to benefit and then, a second later, there is someone but, because you do not have the ability to simultaneously look in all directions, you don’t see them?

Surely it must be safer to indicate whether you can see someone or not? Does not mean you are not concentrating. Perhaps it means you have more concentration left to apply to the driving task as you are not constantly worrying about whether to indicate or not because someone might have appeared since you last looked. Agree you should be aware that the situation has changed, but can you really be 100% certain that you don’t need to indicate?

I'm not perfect (ask my ex-wife )

If there is anyone who would benefit from the information you give out by indicating, be it other vehicles or pedestrians, then you indicate.

I'm talking about the drivers who always indicate, even if they are the only vehicle on an empty road in the middle of the night. They don't even think if there is anyone around who could benefit from that information, they just indicate. If you have good obs, then you will know if there is anyone around to benefit or not.

When I was undertaking my advanced driving training, if you indicated when there was no one to benefit from that information, the instructor would pull you up on it.

Playing devils advocate: if you're able to see someone is using their indicators, maybe they saw you and thought you might benefit from their intentions?

See it all the time on the motorway late at night. A distant car either way, way ahead of you or behind you (so their information is not of use to you) indicate to change lanes/leave/join the motorway. Who are they indicationg to? The answer is no one: it is just a habit they have: change lanes so they'll indicate rather than take good obs.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

See it all the time on the motorway late at night. A distant car either way, way ahead of you or behind you (so their information is not of use to you) indicate to change lanes/leave/join the motorway. Who are they indicationg to? The answer is no one: it is just a habit they have: change lanes so they'll indicate rather than take good obs.

I would be inclined to agree if all drivers were trained to Advanced Driver standards. The reality is that most are not. There are some good, plenty of average, and some shockingly poor drivers.

With that mix, I for one would rather that they indicate every time. The number of times that indicating will actually be unecessary will be low, and the number of times it will be absolutely necessary will be high.

 

[Shude]

See it all the time on the motorway late at night. A distant car either way, way ahead of you or behind you (so their information is not of use to you) indicate to change lanes/leave/join the motorway. Who are they indicationg to? The answer is no one: it is just a habit they have: change lanes so they'll indicate rather than take good obs.

At least they're changing lanes!

I admit to probably indicating too much but I do check mirrors and blind spots all the time, might look a bit like OCD to some!