I always thought that entering, hot-wiring and driving away with a car was a complete fabrication, as cars have a steering column lock that prevents movement of the steering wheel. This scenario is often depeicted in older movies.
At least I thought so. I recently learned that this doesn’t seem to be true, as there were cars around that do not have such locking mechanism. So this TV trope doesn’t seem to be far fetched. I think it is a safety requirement now to combat car theft. I assume that modern, recent cars are locked electronically rather than mechanically.
However, I don’t think that car manufacturers leave/left a conventient ammount of cable length underneath the steering column to be yanked out and to be hotwired in a comfortable and accessible way.
The image of “yank down on a panel under the steering wheel, a bunch of loose wires not in a loom or harness dangle out, two in the front are conveniently stripped and tinned. Touch these together to start the car.” happens too often.
I always thought that entering, hot-wiring and driving away with a car was a complete fabrication, as cars have a steering column lock that prevents movement of the steering wheel. This scenario is often depeicted in older movies.
At least I thought so. I recently learned that this doesn’t seem to be true, as there were cars around that do not have such locking mechanism. So this TV trope doesn’t seem to be far fetched. I think it is a safety requirement now to combat car theft. I assume that modern, recent cars are locked electronically rather than mechanically.
However, I don’t think that car manufacturers leave/left a conventient ammount of cable length underneath the steering column to be yanked out and to be hotwired in a comfortable and accessible way.
The image of “yank down on a panel under the steering wheel, a bunch of loose wires not in a loom or harness dangle out, two in the front are conveniently stripped and tinned. Touch these together to start the car.” happens too often.