If you grew up in a rural town, you may have witnessed parents or grandparents leave their keys in the ignition, on the dashboard, under the sunshade, or even just in the garage. foot on the driver’s side.
- You are required to ensure the safety of your vehicle, including carrying your car keys
- Getting the keys means you reduce the risk of your car being stolen
- Smart Keys are turning this topic into another process
It was a pretty common practice years ago, but some people still do it. And those who do so may not realize that they are breaking the law by doing so.
Section 213 of the Australian Road Safety Act states that you must keep your vehicle safe if you stop. Similar to the fact that you must lock your car if you are going to be more than three meters away from it, the law requires that you remove your car keys if you intend to get out.
“Before leaving the vehicle, the driver must remove the ignition key if there is no one aged 16 or older in the vehicle,” the document states. Failure to do so could result in a fine of up to 20 units, which could mean hundreds or thousands of dollars in fines.
All to reduce the chances of your car being stolen. And, perhaps, reduce the paperwork involved in dealing with that from a police perspective.
Modern cars do not necessarily have a key to start, but instead have a push-button start button and a smart key, which can allow access to the car through a button or sensor on the outside of the door. .
It’s safe to assume that the law applies to the smart key, as well as the physical key in the ignition, so don’t think you won’t have a conflict if you have a smart key system in your car. mine.
What’s more, some newer vehicles have apps connected to your smartphone that can let you lock or unlock your car with your phone and even allow other users to access it remotely. That still shouldn’t be considered a gray area. The key is the key, be it on the phone, in the form of a fob or even with a key card as in some models.
In fact, most connected car apps have prompts that will let you know if you’re more than a few meters away from your car and if you’ve unlocked the car.
However, it is quite clear that if you happen to leave your car unlocked and running, and your smartphone with a connected car app is left in the car, you can still violate the law about leaving cars unprotected.
In short, you need to carry your car keys with you and you need to make sure your car is safe when doing so.
If not, and you’re found to be doing it wrong, you could be fined – and if it’s anything like rules about keeping your windows open or closedCosts can run into the thousands of dollars.
Not intended as legal advice. Check with the relevant road authority in your state or territory.
