We have all the gadgets to keep our kids safe in the car ? the car seats, the seatbelts, the child-proof lock on the door, the child-proof windows. But how about locking your car doors from the inside while driving?

A friend who comes from South America makes it a point to lock her car doors while driving. I know that in many parts of Asia (usually in big cities) where I come from, locking car doors from the inside is a must. After all, it only takes a couple of seconds for somebody to open the door and grab your purse from the front seat or empty your trunk – while you are stopping at a red light and standing in a traffic jam. Much worse, anybody can just grab your sleeping child at the back seat before you can even get out from behind the wheel.

I learned driving in Belgium and Germany and we now live in Switzerland. These are three countries I know (there may be others) where locking your car from the inside is not a normal practice. In fact, it is pretty much discouraged because in cases of accidents, nobody can open the door to help you or your child.

Where we live now, I feel comfortable driving with unlocked doors that can be opened from the outside. I don`t really feel any threat to myself or to my kids. I wouldn`t know how I`d feel though if I`m driving in a strange city in dense traffic.

So what`s the common practice in your part of the world?

Can car companies perhaps put in a special feature in future cars – car doors that lock automatically when you stop and unlock when you drive off again? Or does this feature already exist but I`m simply not aware of it?