I would certainly agree that putting your keys on the roof is a bad idea and I don't recall that anyone in this thread suggested that, but passing trucks won't move keys from my dashboard into the middle of the street unless that truck passed through my car.mkosmo wrote:Every LEO I've talked to has suggested against this, particularly on busy streets. Their rationale was: The last thing they need is for your car to not start after the stop, especially if you're blocking traffic. I've heard people suggest putting keys on the dash or on top of the vehicle and pitched that thought too, which was shot down as well: If a truck drives by, it could potentially dislodge your keys making them either hard to find, a hazard, or in the middle of traffic.Excaliber wrote:I suggest keys out of the ignition and on the dashboard behind the steering wheel. This pretty much eliminates an officer's concern that the driver might do something sudden and threatening with the vehicle.
I personally think that LEO would find a welcoming and non-threatening posture and expression from the offender to be more settling than than the gesture of disabling your vehicle.
I would also agree that if you're driving something that doesn't start reliably it would be a bad idea to turn off the engine. However, if you're driving a well maintained vehicle, it is no more likely to fail to start then than at any other time.
Once again, there is no one size fits all solution. You need to weigh the potential benefit of a somewhat more relaxed encounter against the other factors that have been outlined here. Everyone needs to take his or her own situation and concerns into account, make appropriate decisions, and act accordingly.