Sharjah: Traffic police saved the life of an Emirati man whose cruise control failed while he was driving his four-wheel vehicle at a speed of 139km/h on Maliha Road on the way to Sharjah, according to Shajah Police.
Police said the incident happened on Friday morning.
“The fear was that the driver would endanger his life and the life of other road users,” police said.
According to First Lieutenant Hassan Al Zahouri, duty police officer, the police operations emergency room at Sharjah Police received a call from a motorist saying his cruise control had failed and he was driving at 139km/h.
“Police, the civil defence and a number of police patrols rushed quickly and they tried to keep other motorists away from that driver in order to avoid a disaster on the road,” the officer said.
Al Zahouri said the police contacted the driver over the phone to give him instructions as to how to control his car. He was told to put his hazard lights on, to put his car in neutral and to hold the steering wheel firmly.
“The driver stopped the car and the problem was solved in a short period of time safely,” said Al Zahouri.
Brigadier Abdullah Mubarak Al Dukhan, deputy director of Sharjah Police, said such incidents were happening frequently in the country these days.
He said that the Ministry of Economy should find a speedy solution for such a dangerous problem and the ministry should communicate with the concerned agencies to solve the issue.
“We have noticed that the cruise failure problem has been happening in different kinds of vehicles, especially brand new cars,” he said.
Brigadier Al Dukhan said that motorists should not rely purely on cruise control and if they wish to use it they should drive at lower speeds, especially on highways.
He said motorists should inspect their vehicles frequently.
“Motorists should keep a safe speed while driving and fasten their seat belts and be alert to anything that could happened on the road and contact the police operations emergency room immediately in case of any issues,” he said.
