h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

That's almost exactly how the Police helped me to get into my car after I'd locked the keys inside, with one minor change: they used the leather strap of their truncheon to slightly lever open the gap on the door. Saves any worries about screwdriver scratches!

For the Police to get me back into my car, the WPC removed what looked like a translucent strip of white plastic from her hat, inserted it down the side of the door and wiggled it around for a bit.

And then gave me lecture about being more careful not to lock my keys in my car, when I asked how it worked.......

Excellent entry!

One question though, I thought most cars were designed so that you need the keys to lock the car from the outside?

What entries will we see next I wonder? How about:

"How to work out the combination lock on a safe" or
"How to hotwire a moped"... ?

I've owned several Dodge cars, and there is a specific button you can flick on the inside that powerlocks all doors, even if any are currently agape. Each door that isn't closed then locks as it is closed. This feature is handy if your body (like mine) is stiff and crotchety and is likely to complain if you otherwise reach around throughout the interior to lock everything.

They also have a locking peg that is both rounded and recessed, so this particular technique will not work.

After the entry was edited, I suddenly realised that I usually wrap the screwdriver in a hanky

Cars less then three or four years old are designed so you can't lock the keys inside- older ones you just push the button down while the door's open then close it- if you're absent minded like me, this is usually the moment when you realise the keys are on the driver's seat

Some car manufactures have caught on to this method- that's why a number of new cars have tapered butttons. So you can't use a piece of tape- but a notched length of slim metal, as kept around by most garages, will still do the trick

I have never owned a car but after working on car parks for over ten years i must have helped around 30 people get into there cars like this but i never used a scew driver instead i used a credit card!
I would wrap the tape around the card to force it though the door seal.

Blimey, old threads never die do they!

I have to ask Timelord, how on earth did you stumble across this one

Randomly browsing the guide, one assumes. I've never thought of using a credit card...