In Control

A disabled French driver had a terrifying experience when the accelerator pedal on his specially- adapted vehicle failed. The man was making a trip to the supermarket when the accelerator jammed at a speed of 100km/h. But when he tried to brake, the car accelerated instead of slowing down. The driver used his cellphone to call the emergency services and several police cars came rushing to his assistance. The police cars escorted him as he roared along a major highway in Northern France, with t
April 23, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
A disabled French driver had a  terrifying experience when the  accelerator pedal on his specially- adapted vehicle failed. The man  was making a trip to the  supermarket when the accelerator  jammed at a speed of 100km/h.  But when he tried to brake, the car  accelerated instead of slowing  down. The driver used his  cellphone to call the emergency  services and several police cars  came rushing to his assistance. The  police cars escorted him as he  roared along a major highway in  Northern France, with three toll  stations raising barriers to let him  through until his vehicle eventually  ran out of fuel 200km later, in  neighbouring Belgium. The driver  is taking legal action against the  vehicle manufacturer, saying that  he had experienced a problem  with the accelerator on a previous  occasion and repair work was  supposed to have dealt with the  issue. He also said that he has had  two epileptic attacks as a result of his traumatic experience.

Related Content

  • Hitting back
    February 15, 2013
    A six-strong gang of car thieves got rather more than they bargained for when they tried to steal an expensive Range Rover from two brothers in the UK city of Birmingham late one night. The owner of the car just happened to be a famous boxer and when one of the thieves slapped him, the boxer punched his assailant back and knocked him out cold. The boxer and his brother, also a successful boxer, then fought back the rest of the would-be carjackers.
    Read More
  • TISPOL Conference: autonomous vehicles high on safety agenda
    February 2, 2017
    Safety and autonomous vehicles exercised the minds of some of Europe’s senior police officers at the recent TISPOL European Traffic Police Network Conference in the UK. The European Union looks like missing its target of halving the number of people killed on its roads each year by 2020. Just when European police forces are trying to get back on target, along comes the autonomous vehicle with all its inherent safety issues.
    Read More
  • Crashed, again
    March 23, 2016
    A valuable Pagani Zonda supercar has been crashed for the second time in the UK. The car was being driven back from its annual MOT test by the bodyguard of the current owner. However the driver lost control of the high-performance vehicle and crashed it into a fence. In court the driver explained that he had been shifting his seat for better comfort, when his foot slipped onto the accelerator pedal. However this account differed from his original statement to the police in which he claimed he had swerved to
    Read More
  • Daring duos?
    March 27, 2014
    In the US, a mother became her son’s partner in crime by acting as his getaway driver following a street robbery. After the son stole a pensioner’s wallet, the mother drove him away from the scene of the crime. The son did tell his mother what he had just done, as the not-so-daring duo drove away. The mother refused to let officers search their home, explaining that her son had thrown away the empty wallet, having spent the US$40 it had contained. The son was charged with robbery.
    Read More

Highlighted Content