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Just curious, how can it be non-obvious how to stop the engine? Why couldn't the drivers simply turn back the key? Is there some safety feature I'm not aware of?

In my car there's nothing preventing you from completely removing the key while the car is in drive (this actually screwed me once when I parked on a hill and forgot to shift to park). Is this unusual?

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Some newer cars don't have a key, they have a pushbutton on/off "switch" (not really a switch at all, just a signal to the computer that the driver wants to start the car). To "force shut off" a running car in gear, you have to hold the button down for several seconds (think rebooting a PC by holding the power button down for several seconds).

Many of these cars have a power button -- if the "key" is inside the car, the button is activated. When the car is on, and in park, it will turn off with a simple press of the button, but when in motion that does not work.

(I've been told that holding the power button for several seconds, just like one would a crashed computer, will force a shutdown; can't verify that though.)

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