# Don't leave your unlocked car running and then wonder why it gets stolen **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 23, 2017, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980 "2017-01-23T22:33:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/61 "2017-05-08T19:41:44Z")
If you take the longer view, trends aren’t exactly persuasive. Years and years ago, cars had no hood lock, and even without a key, a piece of wire and a screwdriver, you were on your way. Then column steering locks came into the fore in the 60s sometime. Today anti-theft technologies have become very sophisticated, add considerable expense, and can be a real bear to troubleshoot and even more expense to repair. So in recent years the trend is to carjack folks while it is running, very often with the owner being injured or killed. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/62 "2017-05-08T19:52:49Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > Years and years ago, cars had no hood lock, and even without a key, a piece of wire and a screwdriver, you were on your way. It wasn’t even that complicated. My '67 Chevy just had the latch under the grill, no lever inside at all. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/63 "2017-05-08T20:09:28Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > How is this different from “Don’t wear sexually suggestive clothes and get intoxicated if you don’t want to get raped”? Shouldn’t the focus be on the behavior of the thief, not the thieved? Not the same, this would be like the rape victim being drunk naked passed out, with a rack of condoms taped to her belly and a KY dispenser on her forehead with a sign that says free sex. Kind of ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/64 "2017-05-08T22:52:51Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > In the larger city near me, they have had a few incidents lately of morons leaving guns in their unlocked vehicles and having the guns stolen. The police are just baffled as to what to do to get people to lock their damn cars or, at least, remove the guns when leaving the vehicle. _IF_ I were to become a straw gun buyer, this is how I’d do it. Honest o’cifer, they were stolen. Mmmm, stolen, yeah, yeah, that’s the ticket. No, no, I didn’t intentionally buy them for someone who can’t legally possess one for it to then later be used in a crime. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/65 "2017-05-16T05:19:51Z")
Ha ha, also, don’t leave your _ **motorcycle** _ running outside the corner store, where you have run in to buy a gallon of milk. My roommate did that. He doesn’t have a motorcycle anymore. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/66 "2017-05-16T11:59:35Z")
One of my earliest memories is a television PSA from the early 70’s, featuring a guy on the street complaining that his car’s just been stolen. When the police arrive, the cop asks him: (1) Did you lock your doors? and (2) Did you leave your keys in the ignition? When the guy answers “Yes” to both, everyone (including the cop) point their fingers and laugh at him. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/67 "2017-05-16T19:17:07Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > There does seem to be a fatalistic attitude at work here today, “what did you expect”, and that auto theft is somehow the fault of anyone but the thief, and nobody can be reasonably expected to resist the siren song of a car with the keys in it, or idling in below zero weather. No, not this at all. It is a fact that car theft is usually a [crime of opportunity](http://www.ncpc.org/resources/files/pdf/celebrate-safe-communities/NCPC-autotheft-101.pdf). The vehicle with an unlock door and keys in the ignition presents a much easier opportunity that the one that is locked with no keys inside. You may not tempt a golden child to a life of crime, but you do offer up your vehicle to anyone already disposed to take it. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/68 "2017-05-19T14:26:31Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > :smack: > No matter how brief your errand is, shut off the ignition and take the keys with you. The time you use will be more than made up by the reduced inconvenience. Leaving your unlocked car running can have a truly horrible result: > [@](#): > > While Ebony Archie shopped inside a Jackson, Miss., grocery store, her 6-year-old son Kingston slept in the car. It was just after 1 a.m. on Thursday and Archie, a mother of two from Jackson, had left the Toyota Camry running and the doors apparently unlocked. She was buying medicine, her family said, and Kingston had asked to stay in the car. In just a few hours, Kingston was scheduled to graduate from kindergarten. > > Instead, he was driven away by carjackers. After nine hours, police found his mother’s stolen vehicle abandoned on a dead-end road. Kingston was in the back seat, fatally shot in the head. Authorities later arrested three teenagers. Capital murder charges are pending, authorities said. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/05/19/they-didnt-have-to-kill-him-carjackers-fatally-shoot-sleeping-6-year-old-police-say/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/05/19/they-didnt-have-to-kill-him-carjackers-fatally-shoot-sleeping-6-year-old-police-say/) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/69 "2018-01-10T23:36:28Z")
Another update on this story: It’s still going on. They have arrested kids as young as NINE YEARS OLD, and the ones who are doing this for the most part are repeat offenders who are flat out telling the arresting officers, “We’re juveniles; we’ll just get out and do it again and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.” :eek: One of the local TV stations is doing a half-hour news special about it this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/70 "2018-01-11T01:22:45Z")
My friend has an older BMW, it still looks good. She wants a new one. She has been daring someone to steal it for a couple of years. She leaves the keys in it all the time. I am gonna tell her to go to shady parts of town, leave it running and go in the store for cigs. In a low light area. Hell no, I ain’t telling her that, I would have to go pick her up. ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/71 "2018-01-11T15:11:35Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > That law includes the terms “curb or side of the highway”. Can one assume that this law has no teeth on private property? I’ve read that the police can give you a ticket for OUI if you have your car running in your driveway while you’re working on it with open alcohol containers visible. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/72 "2018-01-11T15:24:53Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I don’t get \*why \*people would leave a car running. Is it to save time? Killing the engine off, locking the car, unlocking the car and starting the engine again take, together, no more than 10 seconds. Is it really worth it for that? Spoken like someone who doesn’t live in Canada. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/73 "2018-01-11T15:51:00Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > My friend has an older BMW, it still looks good. She wants a new one. She has been daring someone to steal it for a couple of years. She leaves the keys in it all the time. I am gonna tell her to go to shady parts of town, leave it running and go in the store for cigs. In a low light area. Hell no, I ain’t telling her that, I would have to go pick her up. Good call. I’d never encourage or enable or conspire with someone to commit a felony (insurance fraud). Now you can back up your refusal by saying you’ve talked about it in public (here), so the evidence is right there in the open. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/74 "2022-05-02T23:58:12Z")
Update: It’s STILL going on! I see unattended running cars all the time, and have confronted people getting into them, and they reply, “But that car won’t go anywhere, because I have the fob.” At least stop wasting gas. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/75 "2022-05-03T01:55:25Z")
I just reread the thread, and keep remembering freezing while driving last winter…so here’s my advice: If you’re in the frozen tundra, you may have to suck it up in below zero weather. Start the car, let it move the oil around while you scrape the windows/shovel a foot of snow off the hood and roof, then don’t leave it running while you retreat to the warm house… _get in_ and drive the car while you’re shivering. I have relatives who let their car “warm up” for fifteen minutes, wasting gas and spewing exhaust… AND they spend a fortune on cars, because they have to have heated seats (which you can’t get without paying for dozens of other features in the Primo Platinum Premium Package). And now they’ve discovered the heated steering wheel, so that’s another package of add-on luxuries. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/76 "2022-05-03T02:36:06Z")
Since it’s been bumped… > [@aceplace57](#): > > Keep your lock clicker separate from the ignition key. > > Then you can leave the car running. Press the clicker and the car is safe for a few minutes while you’re in the convenience store. I have an all-in-one-key; the clicker is the far end of the key; if I take the clicker, I have to remove the key / shut off the car. I do, errr, did (it’s MIA) have a cheap key made for my car; no electronics, no chip so it’ll only un/lock the door & allow the ignition to turn to ‘accessory’ so I can open/close windows. It’s lightweight & waterproof because of no electronics. I’ll tie it into my laces when trail running or clip it to the kayak. As long as I don’t lose my shoe or boat I can unlock the doors & get to where I hid the ‘real’ key in the car. Those keys are harder & harder to find though; have to go to a little hardware store; the orange & blue boxes don’t carry them anymore. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > > [@Barbarian](#): > > > > Every time I see a car with the engine running I want to jump in and just take it down the block, just to mess with the idiot who left it running. > > I feel that temptation every time I see an unattended ambulance with the motor running. 🙂 Ambulances have a large draw, from all of the flashing / scene lights to equipment chargers to powered equipment to wanting to keep the patient compartment warm (clothes get cut off in an injury/trauma call & we can’t necessarily hide you under a blanket if we’re working on you.) Ours had an anti-theft system such that you could press a button in the steering column & remove the key but leave it running. We were _not allowed_ to turn it off on scene due to fear of battery drain & not being able to restart it but the moment someone stepped on the brake pedal if the key hadn’t already been reinserted it would shut off so you wouldn’t get anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/77 "2022-05-03T03:04:29Z")
Those people are wrong. If you drive off without the fob, the car will keep running until you shut it off. Then you won’t be able to start it again until the fob is back in range. It would be a serious safety issue if the engine just shut down when the fob was out of range, so that doesn’t happen. Cite: [Quora](https://www.quora.com/If-a-keyless-ignition-car-is-left-running-can-it-be-driven-away-without-the-key). (I know, I know. Quora isn’t the most authoritative source in the world, but several posters there agree, and all the other sites I found agree that it is universally true.) ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/78 "2022-05-03T09:43:24Z")
> [@edwards\_beard](#): > > I’ve read that the police can give you a ticket for OUI if you have your car running in your driveway while you’re working on it with open alcohol containers visible. Depends on the state and how the law is written. In Wisconsin I can issue for OWI on public roadways and private areas that are generally open to the public, like a grocery store parking lot. But not a private drive way unless I followed them to it. Just working on your running vehicle in your driveway while baked wouldn’t not be PC for a pinch. > [@commasense](#): > > It would be a serious safety issue if the engine just shut down when the fob was out of range, so that doesn’t happen. Yeah. What if the FOB battery died while one was driving. What a serious PITA it would be if the car just shut down because of it. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/79 "2022-05-06T12:54:19Z")
Plus when I read about men (esp) leaving their wallet, credit cards, et al on seat of unlocked car, what are you thinking, who doesn’t put their wallet back in their pocket? What I’m wondering is how many of these things happen because person was on phone ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/80 "2022-05-06T13:03:00Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > It’s a [state law](http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4511.661). they just ticked someone in my area for it. One morning Mrs. Cad forgot her lunch on the counter. She leaves the car running to go inside and grab it. In that minute, Code Enforcement rolls up behind her and blocks the driveway, waiting for a real cop to come and give her a ticket for “puffing”. Needless to say CE was very disappointed when Mrs. Cad came out. BS you say. That means that Code Enforcement was lying in wait, waiting for her to F up. Have you ever lived in a small town? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980.md?page=5)