Keys Left In Ignition Is Leading Cause For Thefts And AAA Calls In Oklahoma

<p>Police say more and more people are locking their keys in their car.&nbsp;</p>

Wednesday, November 14th 2018, 5:49 pm



Police say more and more people are locking their keys in their car. According to their reports, it's the most common reason why cars are stolen.

With colder weather, a year-round problem becomes even more common.

“In my experience, it does happen and happens quite a bit, especially in the winter time, people start up the car warming it up, it happens quite frequently,” said Tulsa Police Officer Danny Bean. 

Tulsa Police say most stolen cars are taken with the keys in the ignition. That's sometimes from people being absent minded or just trying to keep the car warm.

“They'll go as far as getting them from QuikTrip, any kind of stores, they'll go around and look for cars with nobody in them,” said Bean.

Keys locked in cars is also the #1 call for service now for AAA even ahead of the common weather issues with batteries this time of year.

“I double checked the number because I couldn't believe it. It's got to be batteries, it's got to be something else and it's lockouts,” said Mark Madeja of AAA Oklahoma.

So, they're urging people to remember their keys and certainly don't leave them in the car on purpose.

“That's an awful lot of trust, leaving the car running, going inside a store and trusting it's going to be there when you come back outside,” said Madeja.

Keyless entry solves the problem of locking the keys inside but doesn't prevent theft. It depends on the car, but a running car can still sometimes be stolen even without the key.

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