Scottish driver’s MG ZS was stuck at 30 mph and he had to call police who boxed him in
https://www.carscoops.com/author/chris-chilton-cc/
by Chris Chilton
October 4, 2023 at 13:30
There are plenty of times when 30 mph (48 km/h) can seem glacially slow. But when you’re trapped in a car that refuses to slow down for minutes on end, it’s probably scarier than maxing a supercar in the middle of a monsoon.
That’s what happened to Brian Morrison, whose brand new MG ZS became stuck at 30 mph, leaving him trapped inside, unable to slow it down and forced to run red lights and desperately steer around other cars in his home city of Glasgow, Scotland. The terror ride was only ended when the MG owner, who described the ordeal as being “kidnapped” by his own car, crashed into the back of a police vehicle.
Travelling home from work on Sunday evening at around 10 pm, Morrison noticed that something was wrong when the electric MG wouldn’t slow down for a roundabout. Then, when it still wouldn’t slow down on the long straight section of road beyond it, the 53-year-old Scot really began to panic, worrying that he could hit another car, or worse, a pedestrian.
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“It might not sound like it is very fast, but when you have no control over the speed and you’re completely stuck inside, it’s terrifying,” he told BBC News.
Related: Woman In 1947 Chevy Suburban With Failed Brakes Rescued By Crashing Into Police Car
Next, in a move that sounds like it comes straight from a Hollywood disaster movie, Morrison rang the UK’s 999 emergency number, call handlers dispatching three police vehicles to intercept the MG. But officers’ suggestions to Morrison that he throw the keys into their vehicle or hold the starter button down to force the engine to switch off didn’t work, only resulting in the dashboard lighting up like a Christmas tree.
“I tried the park button, engine off button, everything. Then it was panic stations because it wouldn’t stop and everything was flashing,” he told The Scottish Sun. “There was no way I could stop. I was calling it the runaway electric car.”
“The police inspector came up beside me and asked ‘can you throw the car key out the window to my window and let me drive away fast?’ What was meant to happen was that the key would become out of range and the car would cut off. But that never worked either,” Morrison added.
As a last resort, he crashed into a police car
The remaining option was for a police van to bring the MG to a stop by moving in front and letting Morrison rear-end it.
“So that’s what I did, I crashed into the police van – and when I got towards him he started driving off so it wasn’t as big an impact,” said Morrison.
That finally stopped the runaway ZS and the driver was able to safely exit the car, but police had to wait for the RAC breakdown service to arrive before they were able to move their own vehicles because the MG was still determined to keep on trucking.
Morrison claims the RAC’s code reader showed “pages” of faults, and while his insurance company is investigating the incident, and the ZS was left with virtually no visible damage, the kidnap survivor isn’t exactly stuck on the idea of getting back behind the wheel.
“I don’t know if I’ll get another, frankly I’ve not even tried driving my wife’s car,” he told BBC News. “It was a terrifying experience.”
Maybe he should be glad he was only driving a humble MG ZS and not the new 536 hp (544 PS) MG Cyberster.