"MM" wrote in message
...
An Amazon Logistics delivery van came earlier to deliver a parcel. I
noticed that the van was still parked outside, blocking my drive, 30
minutes later. I asked the driver what was the problem, and he said
he'd locked his keys in the back of the van. Amazon sent an emergency
locksmith, who arrived 10 minutes ago. I'm rather surprised that he
hasn't got it open yet!

I don't need to go anywhere in a hurry, but as a matter of interest,
is it THAT difficult to open a van nowadays?

The locksmith is working on the side door, not the rear. (Not the
passenger door, the side door to the storage area.)

I'm surprised that car/van locks are still made in such a way that it is
possible to lock the door with the keys inside. If the front doors are still
open, you'd think there would be an electronic override switch that would
open the rear door.

I've never locked my keys inside any vehicle because I *always* keep them in
my pocket apart from when I'm using them to open a door (assuming the remote
has failed) or to operate the ignition switch; and in the latter case I
always remove them as I am getting out of the car. I got into the habit of
never putting the keys down anywhere (especially inside the car) even for a
few seconds. Likewise if I shut a house door that has a Yale lock, I always
check that I have my keys in my pocket/hand before slamming the door. It's
an ingrained habit, just like giving the gear lever a waggle to confirm it's
in neutral before letting the clutch up at the end of a journey or before
starting the engine (though in our new car I can't stat the engine unless
the clutch is down).

It's reassuring that the locksmith is taking so long to get inside, because
if an expert is having this much difficulty, so will the local scrote
car/van thieves.

A car that I borrowed from my local garage when my car was in for servicing
had a key that had no blade and so there was no way of getting into the car
if the remote key or the car battery failed. Seemed a bit of a fundamental
flaw.