[djaychela]

If the window is cracked open, you can usually get a tool in that will allow you to unlock the car from the inside, as you would if you were inside the car. You can then get in without any noise.

Source: I used to hang out with people who knew car thieves when I was much younger (very early 90s). I knew the area's worst car thief by name, and he would tell you how skilled he was at any opportunity. He always had a thin piece of metal with a hooked end on him (fitted down his jacket arm) for this purpose.

[blincoln]

The window doesn't need to be cracked open to use a "slim jim", at least on older vehicles.

I once accidentally locked myself out of the 2000 Honda Civic I used to own. The engine was still running, and I didn't want it to run out of gas or be late to work. I popped the driver's side door window trim off so I could see how the mechanism worked, and then improvised a "slim jim" out of some wire from my fence. It was disappointingly easy.

[XorNot]

I mean you can also just the break the window, which is what happened to my rental in Hawaii so someone could steal the empty backpack inside. $350 I could've saved had I just left the windows open.

[HeyLaughingBoy]

A friend of ours drove her mother's car here and accidentally locked the keys inside. Made a call to the local police station and a deputy showed up and opened the car in less than a minute.

[ferongr]

This isn't true for any modern car. Even my 2006 VAG shitbox has a double locking feature, where locking the doors from the outside disables the handles on the interior and the unlock switches.

[hotpotamus]

What? Do they double as prisoner transport vehicles? I'd keep one of those safety hammers in my car if it had such a system.

[ferongr]

It's a pretty standard feature here in Europe. In any case, if you've locked the doors from the outside, there should be no reason for the internal handles or unlock switches to be operational.

[toast0]

I guess Europeans never stop in at a store real quick while someone is in the car, and lock the doors while in the store?

Really, disabling the inside handles when there could be a person inside the car sounds like a deathtrap.

[ferongr]

Don't leave a person in the car.

[toast0]

Ok, so I'm on a longer drive, and a passenger falls asleep, but I need to stop and go to the restroom.

Should I a) force them to wake up and either leave the car or be in charge of the door locks b) leave them asleep with the doors unlocked c) trap them in the car?

Of course, I understand Europe also likes to have keyed both sides deadbolts, so I guess you always need to check if everyone inside the house has a working key before locking the door when you leave too?

[hotpotamus]

What if there's someone in the car?

[ferongr]

Don't leave a person in the car.

[hotpotamus]

I mean, I tell myself not to lock my keys in my car, but it has happened on occasion. Do you think you'd be able to escape your car if locked in? I feel like I may be able to kick my way out or otherwise break a window, but I'm not completely sure of that.