Driver claims 120 mph car had a mind of its own

It was like a scene from the film Speed – a car with a mind of its own racing along a motorway.

A motorist in France claims that is what happened to him when his cruise control got stuck at 120 mph, forcing police to help clear a route for his crazy ride along a busy motorway.

Hicham Dequiedt said he was overtaking a truck when his Renault Vel Satis started to accelerate with a life of its own. He could not cut the ignition, he said, because his car has a magnetic card instead of a key.

“It was impossible to slow down! Stamping on the brakes proved pointless, nothing worked. I avoided one car after another by flashing my lights at them,” the 29-year-old said.

Dequiedt managed, however, to alert police on his mobile phone. Messages warning other motorists of the danger were flashed up on screens that straddle the motorway and over a traffic radio station.

Finally, as he was bearing down on a toll booth, Dequiedt said he managed to bring the car to a halt – having raced down 125 miles of motorway between Vierzon and Riom in central France.

“I stomped on the brakes as hard as I could and the car finally stopped,” he told newspaper La Parisien.

Renault boss Louis Schweitzer was sceptical: ”As it is described, this incident surprises me and seems very improbable.”

When magazine Auto Express tested the luxury car it warned: “Look out for electrical niggles …. Numerous faults can arise here, so check the climate and cruise control systems.”