Here’s not something you hear every day. An elderly couple from New Zealand was stuck in their Mazda 3 hatchback for 13 hours after they have accidentally locked themselves in the car believing that exiting the vehicle will not be possible without the key fob.
Brian Smith and his wife Mollieanne tried to call for help by sounding the horn and even trying to break the car window using a car jack, but were still unable to exit the vehicle. The events leading up to the incident involved the couple leaving the car’s manual and key fob outside the car, and according to them, “a lack of information from a car salesperson.” Here’s what Mr. Smith had to say about the incident:
Once I found out how simple it was to unlock (the car) I kicked myself that I did not find the way out … I had this mind-set that I did not have the transponder (so I could not get out). The car salesperson had made it seem the car would not work without the transponder.
While keyless entry cars do not have an ignition key slot, unlocking the doors are not that much different than other modern cars. As the car was parked in the garage, the surrounding was probably too dark for the couple to see that there is actually a lock and unlock switch right below the door handle:
When the couple was rescued by their neighbours, Mrs. Smith was unconscious while Mr. Smith was having difficulty breathing. They were then told by emergency services that if they had spent another half an hour in the car, they could have died. Mrs. Smith was hospitalised for three days after this incident.
New technology isn’t something that everyone can grasp easily, with Mrs. Smith adding that she decided to “go public” about this incident so that people will be be aware of the risks of keyless cars. There isn’t much of a risk if their car salesperson had fulfil his or her responsibility to teach the couple about their new car.
(Source: Otago Daily Time via Ars Technica; Featured Image: Otago Daily Time)
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