It’s one thing to think of alternate exit strategies when you’re calm and alert, but it’s totally different when you are panicked, confused, and possibly suffering from smoke inhalation after being awoken suddenly at 2am. And even if you can still think clearly in that state, there’s no guarantee that the other people in the house can do the same. They may get fixated on trying to get out through the door rather than using their higher brain functions to think of other ways out. That’s because when someone is panicked, their lower brain takes over and it blocks higher function. Their ‘flight’ response takes over, and it doesn’t always make the best choice. At it’s worst, it may decide ‘hide in closet’ is the best way to escape from a fire.
I have installed the new locks mentioned above. Thanks again for the help.
My flat has one, despite having no windows anywhere near the door. I keep the keys in the lock so I can get out as fast as possible in an emergency; if a burglar can see it, they’ve already smashed the door in.
The only reason I can think that the place is set up like that is that this is a one person flat, and it does make it much harder to lock yourself out as you can’t get out and leave the door locked without having the keys in your hand.
Our apartment in the Czech Republic requires a key to get out - we just leave it in the lock all the time.
One disadvantage of having a key in (or near) the lock is it provides an opportunity for someone legitimately in your house to steal or copy it to break in later. For example, a repair person could steal the key from a seldom-used door and you might not notice it for a while. Of course, we all have extra keys in the house anyway, but they are typically in drawers or such places that someone would have to be snooping around to find.
Oh good. I was a little surprised by your question, though. I thought most people changed the locks first thing when they bought a house because you have no way of knowing who the previous owner has given a spare key to. New locks and new toilet seats would be the first things on my to-do list.
One can re-key the locks without changing them, although with older locks that takes a locksmith. Locks with Kwikset’s smart-key feature (which I just installed) allow the user to re-key.
This thread was primarily about the wisdom of locks with no interior knob.