The fact that this problem has been left unsolved is just another indication that Battlefield is suffering from arrested development. There are many daunting problems vexing the world, but this isn't one of them. We have two competing interests:
- Prevent vehicles from being stolen from the driver while they are repairing or using the gunner station
- Prevent drivers from trolling by locking out vehicles and prevent them from utilizing transports in such a way that it detracts from their infantry transport purpose
Repairing the vehicle and using the gunner station has strong value attached to it. The same goes for increased infantry mobility via transport vehicle. The question then becomes not which one we choose, but rather how do we balance these?
A potential solution could be to include a vehicle lock as an ability of sorts but with some intended caveats such as:
- Has 60 second cooldown
- Lasts 15 seconds
- Effect is cancelled immediately upon KO or death
- Effect is cancelled immediately if driver moves more than 10m from vehicle
- Does not apply to enemies
- Visible UI element that shows driver and teammates that vehicle is locked as well as a ticking timer showing how much time remains on the lock
The cooldown should prevent it from being abused while the 15 seconds should provide ample time to repair or to switch to gunner seat and mow down some targets of opportunity without enabling someone to set up camp somewhere. Is it perfect? No, but it would be way better than the situation we have now and the timers and distances mentioned above can be easily adjusted to improve the mechanic even further.