Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Keys on roof of car

42 replies

lilyboleyn · 26/11/2016 10:55

My husband left my keys on the roof of the car and drove off with them.
They fell off on an A road and he tried to stop, reverse and get them, all with a baby in the back.
He's now in a mood with me as I shouted at him to stop and to drive on rather than killing us all.
On there were my car key, house key, a keyring containing £10, an out of date key care keyring from an old insurance policy, an RAC membership fob and various other keys. Also a keyring with a picture of me and the baby.
AIBU to ask what I need to do now? I've no intention of letting him drive back and pick up the mangled keys from the side of the road. I have one spare car key and spare house keys. We live in a rented flat so don't want to change the locks unless necessary. What might happen if we just leave them there?
TIA

OP posts:
Creampastry · 26/11/2016 11:00

Try calling highways agency

SaucyJack · 26/11/2016 11:08

What was the speed limit on the road?

I'm with your DH on the face of it TBH. There's no way I'd just leave my keys in the road.

saoirse31 · 26/11/2016 11:10

Why didn't u just reverse and get the keys, traffic allowing?

trufflepiggy · 26/11/2016 11:13

I would have picked them up of the traffic wasn't bad

LagunaBubbles · 26/11/2016 11:14

If it was safe to pullover and get them I would have.

Original poster
lilyboleyn · 26/11/2016 11:14

It was a busy dual carriageway.

OP posts:
YoScienceBitch · 26/11/2016 11:15

I've done this. I just stopped and picked them up?

TondelayaDellaVentamiglia · 26/11/2016 11:18

they will surely have fallen off as soon as you started driving, so surely not waited until you were on the dual carriageway doing 70mph?

Original poster
lilyboleyn · 26/11/2016 11:20

No, they waited ten minutes! We saw them fall off at 70mph.

OP posts:
Original poster
lilyboleyn · 26/11/2016 11:21

He's got two bars on the top of his car either side, so they held them on sideways til they dropped off the back of the car

OP posts:
Original poster
lilyboleyn · 26/11/2016 11:24

Have called highways agency, thanks pp.

OP posts:
TheMortificadosDragon · 26/11/2016 11:24

YANBU that stopping, let alone reversing on a busy dual carriageway was stupidly dangerous.

Was there anything of that lot which would allow a person who found them to identify you or where you live?

Original poster
lilyboleyn · 26/11/2016 11:29

I don't think so. If someone called the RAC I doubt they'd give out personal details? Similarly with a waitrose key fob.
Highways agency says they'll keep an eye out for them. Also doubt anyone will stop on a busy dual carriageway...

OP posts:
wasonthelist · 26/11/2016 11:56

I'd go back and look early in the morning when it's quiet. That RAC tag (on mine so presumably yours) has a unique number that RAC can use to reunite you with your keys, it's part of their service.

www.rac.co.uk/key-return?WT.ac=myrac_key_return

witsender · 26/11/2016 11:59

I'm amazed so many would stop and get put on an A road!

DoNotBlameMeIVotedRemain · 26/11/2016 12:08

Waitrose will call you if someone picks them up and hands them in in store. Perhaps not likely on dual carriageway. I think DH should go and look for them without you and baby though. If he slows downs gradually and puts hazard warning light on it will be OK.

HeCantBeSerious · 26/11/2016 12:14

I've done the same with shoes and a coffee before now, but why would anyone put keys on top of a car?!

NoelHeadbands · 26/11/2016 12:19

I've done the same with shoes and a coffee before now, but why would anyone put keys on top of a car?!

You say that like shoes and coffee make perfect sense, but keys is totally outlandish Grin

Same reason you put anything on there I guess, to get your hands free whilst you take off coat/ fasten kids in seat etc

TotalPerspectiveVortex · 26/11/2016 12:22

Did this with the petrol cap once. I did get quite a way before it fell off, but it wasn't on a dual carriage way!

AlabasterSnowball · 26/11/2016 12:26

I'm amazed so many would stop and get put on an A road!

I'm suprised anyone would consider reversing on an A road!

nennyrainbow · 26/11/2016 12:28

I've done that! Let me guess, he put them on the roof while he was strapping the baby in the car seat and then drove off using a different key...Blush

I never found mine. Didn't know where they'd fallen off as it was a long country road. Went back on a bike to search more thoroughly. I had a house key and spare car key on mine. Was a bit worried that someone might have found them and tried the key fob on all the local Hondas in the area which if it was parked at home would then identify which house the key was for. But the car and the house are still here, unburgled, 2 years later, so I guess they were probably just lost.

HeCantBeSerious · 26/11/2016 12:28

You say that like shoes and coffee make perfect sense, but keys is totally outlandish

Keys scratch........

QuestionableMouse · 26/11/2016 12:31

I'd be more worried about someone running over them and it ending in an accident.

NapoleonsNose · 26/11/2016 12:33

I've done that. Didn't bother going back for them as I didn't know where they fell off and I guessed they were lost. About a year later I was walking past the police station and decided on a whim to see if they'd been handed in. Policeman got a huge bin, half full of lost keys, tipped it out and lo and behold, my keys were there!

Meluzyna · 26/11/2016 13:04

Not the first time I've heard of someone leaving their keys on the roof of the car - when I was an au pair the woman I was with did it with her house keys when she was strapping the baby in.
Not keys, but my husband realised he'd dropped his mobile phone in the motorway service station car park as he was accelerating to rejoin the motorway. It was nearly midnight and absolutely chucking it down with rain.... If it had been my phone I would have left it there.... he reversed the wrong way up the slip road and back onto the car park to pick up his soggy but otherwise undamaged phone. I was beside myself with anguish and convinced that I was about to die..... he didn't see why it was an unreasonable thing to do.