Driver rescued by police after cruise control failure

A driver whose cruise control settings malfunctioned was rescued after quick-thinking police used a patrol vehicle to slow the car down.

Umm Al Quwain Police said officers received a call from the Emirati woman on Thursday as she was heading along the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road.

Officers were able to clear a route ahead of the vehicle as another patrol car raced to assist.

By manoeuvring just in front of the runaway car allowing their vehicle to be shunted, officers were able to bring it to a stop.

Lt Col Sultan bin Yokha, head of operations at UAQ Police, said: “The driver called police and patrols were sent to clear the road ahead of her.

“To stop the vehicle, a police patrol was placed in front of the Emirati driver so that her car began bumping into the patrol repeatedly until the car’s speed went down and came to a complete stop."

The drama began at around 10.20pm on Thursday as the woman drove towards Ras Al Khaimah.

Officers were able to instruct her how to handle the vehicle as they braked and no one was injured in the incident.

Police have dealt with a number of similar scenarios over recent months, leading some to question whether manufacturers are taking the issue seriously.

In May, Fiat Chrysler announced a recall of 4.8 million vehicles in the United States over concerns over a cruise control fault.

In January 2010, Toyota suspended North American production of eight models and recalled 2.3 million cars in the US following concerns of accelerator pedals jamming.

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Read more: 

Car stuck on cruise control has to be stopped by Sharjah Police

Cruise control crisis? Use the gears, UAE road safety experts say

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