Test finds no faults with car speeding up on highway

A judicial appraisal found no faults with the cruise control or breaking systems of a car that allegedly sped out of control along a highway two months ago, reports China Central Television.

On the night of March 14, a Mercedes Benz C200L sped for an hour along the highway between Henan and Shaanxi provinces at 120 kilometers an hour. The driver claims that the cruise control system couldn't be switched off and that the brakes were unresponsive.

A still from the surveillance video showing the car speeding along the highway from Henan to Shaanxi on the night of March 14, 2018. [File photo: CCTV]

The driver, surnamed Xue, called the police for help. Police cleared the highway ahead of the speeding car before it finally came to a stop.

Xue said that he slowed the car by opening and closing the driver's side door repeatedly, and taking his seatbelt on and off.

After the incident, Xue drove the car for another 800 kilometers to his destination Chengdu, where it was towed away for testing.

Xue's story spread widely online, however many people questioned his explanation of the events that night. There were doubts raised as to whether opening the car door would have made a difference, and why Xue continued to drive the car after the accident. 

Xue's Mercedes Benz C200L. [File photo: CCTV]

On May 26, Xue received a judicial appraisal letter from a third-party vehicle inspection agency, which says there were no faults with the car's braking and cruise control systems; rather, the driver may have failed to switch the gears into neutral to force the cruise control to turn off.

The forensic investigation also confirmed that the driver would not have been able to slow and stop the car by taking his seat belt off and opening its door when it was travelling at more than two kilometers an hour. And, according to the car's data log, the only time the cruise control was switched off was after the incident, when Xue continued on his journey to Chengdu.

Xue, the driver of the Mercedes Benz C200L. [File photo: CCTV]

Xue said that he respects the conclusions of the judicial appraisal, but still insists that the car was out of his control that night. He claims that he didn't use the cruise control after the incident, and doesn't understand the discrepancy in the car's data recorder.