Sheila's Wheels makes safety keyring

Wednesday, 09, Sep 2009 02:00

Sheila's Wheels has created a car key, disguised as a cocktail ring, to make it safer for women to lock and unlock their vehicles.

The car insurer designed the Sheila's Wheels KeyRing to ensure the driver's key is always safely to hand - particularly at night or when alone.

It works by pressing the gemstone on the ring - this activates the door lock so women can quickly get into their car and then find their actual key to start the engine.

The ring's launch comes after research by the firm found women were becoming more exposed to crime because they were being distracted by rifling around their handbags for "buried" car keys.

Sheila's Wheels calculated an average 416 hours of women's lifetime was spent doing this.

Its poll found 28 per cent of women said they had sensed they were being followed when walking to their car alone. A further 41 per cent said this feeling was heightened if they could not find their keys in their bulky bags.

Jacky Brown, of Sheila's Wheels, said the KeyRing addressed one of women's motoring safety concerns.

"Not only will women be able to open their cards with minimal fuss," she said, "but they will be able to quickly get in to the safety of their vehicle before having to root around in their handbag for their car keys."