Locked out of my car

It is not a new thing to hear that a colleague of yours is locked outside his car. Not just colleagues, even we have ourselves faced such situations in the past when we were locked outside and the backup set of keys was miles away. This situation is not only distressing but could have adverse social impacts. In some situations it could be outright dangerous. Although it is an old practice that the companies provide a duplicate set of keys but since 1995 it is required by law in the UK for all auto manufacturing companies to fit an immobilizer system in the cars. This immobilizer system kicks in when a wrong or broken key is tried. In such a scenario the engine does not start rendering the car immobile. This was done with an intention of effectively dealing with car thefts.

These days car keys are fitted with a transponder device which are essentially chips that communicate  with the car's internal computer. The car's computer expects an embedded code from this chip which is empowered to respond back with the code whenever there is a signal radioed to it by car's computer whenever the key is inserted for ignition. If the code radioed back by the transponder chip does not match with the internal code of the car, the engine fails to start. Some car manufacturing companies such as Ford embed these chips inside the plastic head of the ignition keys.

In such a situation when the owner is locked out of the car, the duplicate key might be the only solution. Availability of the duplicate set is another issue. Not all the owners carefully preserve their duplicate sets in places they remember. In such a situation, opening a car even when parked in the house garage could be a challenge. Reliable auto locksmiths could be the only saviours then. The skill sets of well qualified locksmiths include key duplication, transponder keys cloning and replacement, ignition key extraction along with lock repairing in addition to others.

Generally the well known auto locksmith service providers are open everyday all through the year backed by their service locations spread throughout the country. People seeking to record the names and information of reliable locksmiths in the UK could refer the list of Auto Locksmith Association members. It is a non profit making organization that requires all its members to be practicing locksmiths for two years. It also require all those wanting to join to pass an examination and provide references. Regular meetings and trainings are held for the members of the association and it could serve as a great starting point to search for a reliable locksmith.

Need an emergency Locksmith

Locks are ubiquitous these days and they are as much a part of our lives as our dear belongings. Be it our houses, safes, cars, laptops, mobile phones - each of them employ locking mechanism in some or the other form. Locks are not new to humans. Oldest known locking device was used by Egyptians almost four thousand years ago. These days the locks range from the very old and traditional key based locks to very sophisticated speech recognition and biometric based systems that require finger printing and iris scanning. All in all locks are the most effective way of safeguarding your assets. But locks come with their own set of problems. Biggest problem being keys related faults. More often then not, the locks are rendered useless because of their keys getting broken or lost. In such a situation the only option is to either throw away the lock or call a locksmith. Locksmith is someone who generally creates duplicate keys or resolves key related issues. The locksmiths might have to create keys by copying already existing ones or figuring out the internal architecture of the lock itself. Sometimes it happens that the keys are broken inside the locks and the locksmith need to extract the key as well.

Whenever such a need arises, it becomes imperative that you are in the know of some reliable and skilled locksmith. An intelligent and efficient locksmith could save you the day. Locksmithing is not just an art but it a complex science as well. Some countries in the world such as Australia have educational degrees designed around locksmithing. In the UK, locksmithing is also a recognized profession and there are a few professional companies that provide locksmithing service round the clock all throughout the year. Locksmithing could be a tricky business as well, thus it is important that the locksmith that you employ belong to a reputed and credible company. There are different associations in the UK such as Master Locksmiths' Association and  Auto Locksmith Association that hold entrance examinations for professional locksmiths and require locksmiths provide references and possess prior experience for joining them. Different locksmithing companies also require their employees to go through Criminal Records Bureau screening to enhance their credibility.

Before you employ a locksmithing company, make sure you have got a reference and checked their expertise and the list of recent jobs that they have completed. It is important that the person working with your locks is a trustworthy professional who you would not hesitate to call for a repeat job again.