I don't hide a key on my track - I hide a key in my wallet, in my wife's purse, with the kids...

I thought along the same lines, Teacher, until yesterday. Everything was in the truck since I was walking exactly 8 feet from it to quickly read a sign. I guess I could skip the hide a key and just make sure ai have my keys in hand when exiting the vehicle.

It's inconvenient sometimes, but I forced myself to get into the habit of never leaving the driver's seat without the ignition key in my hand. Even when it's a quick switch of drivers on a long drive, I'll turn off the car and hand the keys to the other person as we're walking past each other to trade places. At gas stations, the key goes into my pocket as I'm outside refueling.

It's mostly a habit to prevent locking myself out. But it should also eliminate those opportunistic carjackings where someone jumps into a car left running or with the key in the ignition and no one is in the driver's seat. I do something similar when I leave the house.

When leaving home, I always unlock the doorset from the inside and then lock it with the key from the outside instead of just turning the knob to get out and then pulling the door shut. I should never lock myself outside just as I realize my keys aren't in my pocket (been there, done that). Also, since I have to physically lock it on my way out every time, I never have that anxious feeling creep into my brain as I'm a few miles away of wondering, "Was the front door actually locked?"

You must think about habits when developing them, but once the habit is practiced for a long time, it actually forces the brain to work and think about the physical actions that have become your habits. Even if you may not be conscious of what you are forgetting, the repeated physical actions have caused the brain to feel that something is wrong and make you try to remember. When you fail to perform a habit that is deeply ingrained it can affect your mood and attitude in a negative way, and maybe it will spark the brain into remembering what you failed to do.

btdt. Since moving to sunny florida, my clothing is too flimsy to hold all the pocket carry stuff that I was used to having; switched to a possibles bag (preferable to man-purse styling), and locked that in the car, too. *sigh*
Final solution-a lightweight sog folder, with a reduced-size car key fastened to the scale with electrical tape. Light enough to be supported by tropical-weight clothing, and the " Rule #3: always carry a knife" imperative is well-ingrained. Maybe I will build me a folder with a key blade-wait-I am not that skilled.

Or get a man bag