Bedford Driving Lessons

It should only have taken a touch on the brakes to disengage the cruise control on his 4×4. Or so 22-year-old Chase Weir thought as he neared his motorway exit. But when he tapped his foot on the brake pedal nothing happened. The car carried on at 50mph. He tried again, but still it sped on. In fact, it kept going for 25miles as Mr Weir frantically thumped his foot on the brake pedal, yanked on the handbrake and tried to turn off the engine with the ignition key. It seemed that only a crash would stop the car and Mr Weir, weaving in and out of city traffic, honking his horn and flashing his lights at other vehicles, became convinced he was going to die. For 30 minutes, with the help of police, he was able to keep hurtling along. Then he was confronted by the sight he dreaded most – a traffic jam. He swerved, pulled on the handbrake and stood on the brake pedal. After what seemed an eternity of screeching he bumped across a traffic island and came to halt inches from another car. ‘I really thought I was dead,’ he said. ‘When the police opened the door and asked if I was OK I have never screamed as much in my life.’ Mr Weir had flicked a switch on his Ford Explorer 4×4 to engage the cruise control when he joined the fast Eastern Freeway leaving Melbourne. A touch of the brake or accelerator pedal should have put the car back into manual drive. More