Abu Dhabi driver stuck in cruise control at 160 kph rescued
A UAE news report suggests that a speeding driver in Abu Dhabi set the cruise control on his “new Japanese car” to 160 kph and then couldn’t turn it off. He then called the police for help.
According to Gulf News, the Emirati driver was speeding along the Abu Dhabi-Al Ain highway when the incident happened. He called the police on his mobile phone, and three patrol cars were dispatched. They eventually found him and surrounded him in case he loses control and hits something.
The police apparently advised the driver to do a number of things, eventually asking him to leave the accelerator and brakes untouched and apply the handbrake slowly. This supposedly worked, and the car came to a stop after 45 minutes.
A “mechanical engineer working with Abu Dhabi Police” is quoted as saying that dust could’ve entered the cruise control system or it had a manufacturing defect, and that the driver should sue the as-yet-unnamed carmaker.
Update: Latest reports from Abu Dhabi police now suggest it was a “2007″ four-wheel-drive and that it was “modified for speed.”
Comments
assassin
I guess nobody in the world knows which carmaker is that. hehe
wtf are you srs
what the hell is wrong with these peopl?! If the report is true they need to publish the make and model of the car!!! This is ridiculous
titf
i say the car maker is Toyota
it is known to have such problem
it could be the new camry though! ©_©
Anonymous
Since when did Camry came out as a 4×4?
marc
sure, scary things happen.
but how can a human be so ****** not to carefully try hand brakes himself?!?!?!?!!
oooh boy.. myoceptor scarcity..
vivek
The car is Japanese, Gulf News says….I guess I know the carmaker now :P..
Pankaj
Cant the vehicle be shifted to Neutral so that the vehicle can be stopped?
Vic Rad
Yes! That is what I did when I was driving my 2004 Chevrolet Lumina A.K.A. Holden. I was going 80 km/hr. down a bridge slope and it did not slow down to maintain speed. Instead, it increased speed to reach 100 km/hr. I shifted to neutral and it worked.
Iftikhar Bashir
Dear Mashfique! what is your expert opinion please? what might be the reason behind this problem and what to do if a driver faces such situation?
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
If this happens to anyone here, there are a few things you can try:
1) Press the brake pedal. If that doesn’t work, press harder.
2) Shift into Neutral. Hopefully those stupid modern cars with “dial” and “electronic” shifters will still let you do that.
3) Try turning off the engine. If your car has a starter button, read the manual on how to stop the engine while the car is moving. Some cars require 3 quick taps, while others require that you hold down the button for 3 or more seconds. Remember that you’ll lose power steering when you turn off the engine, so the steering wheel will become harder to turn. Roll to a stop on the side of the road.
4) If all else fails, try pulling the handbrake up very lightly a little at a time. If you have a foot parking brake, press that very lightly, a little at a time, until fully pressed. Never pull the handbrake hard or press the parking brake hard at once, or you’ll do a Saudi drift spin since it only locks up the rear wheels.
5) If pulling on the handbrake lightly doesn’t work, a last resort would be to yank the handbrake hard and hope that you are good enough to control the possible spin.
6) If your car has an electronic parking brake and you still haven’t stopped after all these steps, then start praying, because you’re screwed.
Ironman
7) Pinch yourself to make sure your not dreaming
8) Check to see if Keanu Reeves is in town, so that he can bail you out, ‘Speed’ style
9) Call the dealer/manufacturer of the car and give them a piece of your mind before nearing your end
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
^I like how Number 8 became a cool dude with sunglasses!
Fares
If non of these work, then the best solution is to open the door and do your jump. It is possible that you don’t die but most likely you will and this will just end this issue.
The car is obviously LAND CRUISER (2011 i guess). A lot of ppl gave the same complain and they actually collected some cars from the market and fixed that factory fault.
Arbaab
Leave all tyhe technical talk aside…..did the driver get penalised or fined for going 160kph in the first place 😛
Sarin
Thanks for the info Mash!
Nabeel Khan
the car maybe Toyota Land Cruiser. Same thing happened to a guy here in saudi arabia. but experts from Toyota said that its due to drivers usage of aftermarket cruise control.
RayD
I wonder if we’ll ever know the make and model of the vehicle. In anycase he shouldn’t have been driving that fast as it posed a danger to himself and others travelling on that stretch of highway. What a RETARD!!. I hope the Police fine him and impound his car.
assassin
I believe 160 kph is legal at that road; you get flashed at above 160.
kaiz83
160 is not legal , here is details how radar works on this road:
1. from Maqata Brdige Outbound Abu Dhabi 120 KMPH till First exit of airport
2. 140 onwards till Al Yahar
3. 120 from Al Yahar to Al Ain City (first single speed limit goes down to 80)
Qyu
Cruise control at 160… gulf news should be on the case of the driver, for setting the cruise at such a high speed! Truly there is no true Journalism left in UAE
Ironman
Now now.. the long list of radar fines he would have accumulated while he was being rescued, should be justice served.
Sooraj
Well, An emrati drivin at 160 on al ain highway….it definitely has to be a Toyota Land Cruiser!!!
Sooraj
Hello…guys..This is the Abu dhabi – al ain highway and the legal speed limit is 160 km/hr. therefore, the driver did not commit any spped violations!!
marc
that is complete bullox. the speed limit is 120. the 160 is merely the set limit for traffic fines (obviously not to cause excessive admin work..)
Riyas
TOYOTA LAND CRUISER…
Aftab
I thinks its the land cruiser as there have been a couple of incidents here in Riyadh and Al Kharj with stuck cruise controls.
waheed
recall. recall. recall. toyota sucks
Chris
Another moron behind the wheel of a white lc. Probably didn’t know how to turn cruise control off
shafiq
hope toyota prices go super down after this 😉
vivek
I still believe it is going to be another hyped up issue. Not that I support Toyota; but how come these issues never came into the limelight before? And if the issue was so very prevalent, then how did all these drivers escape from trouble without any accident or even a scratch – considering the fact that cruise control will b activated only at highway speeds, which is mostly above 100 kph, and not within city limits. It does not make any sense.
Anil
Hey vivek, cruise control can be set at speeds above 40 kmph and not 100 kmph…I have tried this and came to the 40 figure on my Accord.
vivek
I wasn’t talking about the technical stuff. Cruise can be activated from speeds of 40 kph and above in any vehicle; but which sane being will do that within city limits? And do we have roads long, straight and empty enough within a city for activating cruise?..People generally use cruise only during motorway driving..
Zao
how come everyone is behind toyota this time? it could be a nissan or honda….dont think its mitsu subaru or mazda…becuz those 3 cars are rare among emarati drivers…thank god atleast they revealed its a japanese car…
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
Latest reports from Abu Dhabi police now suggest it was a “2007” model and that it was “modified for speed.”
Andre
Has anyone bothered to check how long after the speed camera took this guys photo he decided his Cruise control didn’t work?……..
Has anyone bothered to arrest or detain the driver for setting his cruise control at 160? I don’t believe there is ANY area on a public road in the UAE where the speedlimit is 160.
What is the bet nobody can now replicate the “fault” that happened. Some (actually MOST) of these stories are to farfetched to be anything but lies by the driver.
assassin
Are you kidding or what, arrest him cos he cruised at 160 (and some say his speed was 158)
Man, even so, its 160 and not 260 to be arrested. ok let’s say the speed limit is 120 over there, the fines will be ” driving over speed limit by 30 to 40 kph”. He will not get any single black point even if he got flashed like 100 times there.
Damn it, I drive every day much faster than 160kph in roads that Speed limit sign says max 60kh/m.
Ace
the abu dhabi – al ain road has a speed limit of 140 so cam flashes after 162kph
Rasikh
the driver was stupid. i could have stopped that thing even if the pedal was stuck floored! what a funny story and a lack of general automotive knowledge
Xalan Mustafa
last but not the least , say your heavenly words cool and calm
vivek
^^^^ Lol!!! 😀
raj
Seeting 160 km speed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cayanide
Why was he told to apply hand brakes with the car running he could have put the car in neutral and turned off the ignition and applied the normal foot brake!!!!
Ace
It was a Nissan Patrol 2011, he had upgraded its engine and the cruze liquid was altered by the tech, so it was not Nissans Fault.
carfan
i heard it was a lexus
hot rod
8)
Hassan
Similar case happened in USA. Some sued Toyota. Case was concluded as Toyota not guilty, after sever inspection and testing. Some seemed to want money from Toyota, by claiming so. Toyota is selling 10,000,000 cars in a year. It is strange only 1 case is reported in UAE and 9,999,999 cars are OK in anywhere else in the world.
Sunil
If at all the edit came a little early, so much of talent in commenting wouldn’t have wasted. The owner of this car has surely played with the ECU!