Police save driver in second case of accelerator failure

UAE traffic police again saved the life of an Emirati man whose car accelerator went out of control in the northern emirates, in the second such breakdown in the country in less than a month, a newspaper said on Thursday.

Mohammed Abdullah, 21, was on Emirates Road heading from Ras Al Khaimah to Umm Al Quwain when his car’s accelerator failed at 138 kph.

Panicking, he phoned the police emergency and told them he can no longer stop his car as he was approaching Sharjah.

“He said that he had tried many times to press the brakes but they did not respond….he said the car would not even slow down and that he needed urgent help before reaching busy streets in Sharjah,” the Arabic language daily Alittihad said, quoting Major Talal Al Kharji, operations chief at UAQ police.

Kharji said police managed to locate that car at intersection 103 on Emirates Road towards Sharjah just after mid night, adding that many police cars and ambulances rushed to the scene.

He said police then tried to give Abdullah instructions by phone to stop the car but they did not work as he was alone in the car and was confused.

The paper quoted another police officer as saying police patrols then spotted that car and rushed towards Sharjah to clear the way ahead.

“One patrol car drove in front of that vehicle near junction 95…the police then asked Abdullah to bang his car into the rear of the patrol car,” said Major Saif Al Ali, head of Al Salma police statin in UAQ.

“He started to implement those instructions…after three attempts, his car began to slow down and finally came to a standstill…the driver emerged unscathed and there were no casualties on the road.”

Abdullah said he had a feeling that he would not emerge alive from that ordeal, crediting his rescue to the “brave” police men.

It was the second incident of its kind in less than a month. In late August, police men saved the life of an Emirati driver after the accelerator system in his Land Cruiser failed on Emirates Road as he headed for RAK.

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