🔺A Cautionary Tale on the Road.

Your First Encounter with a Car Breakdown

Have you ever experienced a car breakdown? Do you get nervous, or are you the type who always knows exactly what to do? I’ve been driving for over 20 years and never once faced this dreaded scenario—until today.

The Breakdown

This was my third car, a brand-new model just a couple of months old, and… BANG! The engine shuts off. Not a regular shut-off either—this happened while driving, right at the point of making a turn at a busy junction. Picture this: a bustling evening, heavy traffic, congested roads with no traffic lights, and everyone trying to push their way through. And then, my car breaks down, bringing the chaos to a new level.

Stranded in Traffic

To make things even more “special,” the dashboard displayed an alert reading “Anti-theft Steering Lock.” My own car suddenly felt like it was fighting against me. The engine went dead, the car wouldn’t start, and the gear was stuck, refusing to shift into neutral. My only option to push the car to the side was gone. Horns were blaring from all sides, but there was a silver lining—being in the UAE meant I didn’t have to deal with an angry cop yelling at me. Even if the police had arrived, they are usually helpful and do their best to make you feel at ease.

But luck was on my side. I still had a bunch of good Samaritans who stopped to help. Unfortunately, even they were stumped, especially with the gearbox locked. So much for hi-tech, high-end computerized cars! It made me wonder: if this happens with cars with human drivers on board, what should we expect when driverless cars face real-world challenges? This so-called safety feature meant to prevent theft had left me stranded in the middle of a busy road.

A Helping Hand

Luckily, one of the helpers was a mechanic—not from the brand of my car, but knowledgeable enough to help. He managed to pull a few plugs to disable the auto mode, shift the gear into neutral, and we pushed the car to the curb.

Finally, some relief, but what an embarrassing experience! I was the center of attention, with people suggesting I push the car to the side—if only they knew that wasn’t an option. It’s funny how these “experts” are always quick to offer advice but not as eager to stick around and help.

The Recovery Ordeal

Could it get worse? Of course, it could—Murphy’s Law loves moments like these. Since this was my first breakdown in over 20 years, I called my “FREE” recovery service, only to be told they didn’t have my car registered in their system. An hour of back-and-forth calls, a new profile created, and finally, they assigned a recovery driver. But wait, the recovery service was outsourced to a third-party provider, so I had to wait another 30 minutes for an email to confirm the assignment. Two hours later, the recovery truck finally arrived.

The car was towed to the service centre, but it was closed for the day. I had to wait until the next morning to check on the status. Calling the service station’s call centre felt like a battle—multiple calls, endless waiting, and no updates. I decided to go in person, only to find that my car was not properly logged in because of a language barrier, the Arabic-speaking recovery driver had left the key with a note written in Arabic, which no one at the service centre could read. It sat unattended until someone who spoke Arabic came in. Being there in person helped, the manager walked in to check on the situation, he was an Arabic speaking person, so it helped, he was immediate to attend the case and help me through.

Been two days now, I was still waiting for a diagnosis, all because my car was delivered without a prior appointment. It made me question the reliability of modern technology and all these so-called “safety features.” Sometimes I wonder if a good old manual car would’ve been better. At least then, I could have relied on a friendly neighborhood mechanic and a simple spanner to fix the issue.

Lessons Learned

This experience taught me a few things: always have a backup plan, don’t rely entirely on technology, and appreciate those who stop to help, even if they don’t have all the answers. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when everything goes wrong, but sometimes you just must roll with it and laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

Is Technology a Blessing or a Curse?

What do you think? Is technology a blessing or a curse? A cautionary tale on the road indeed, in my case scenario, I was stuck in traffic, when technology failed and my car broke down.

Have you ever been in a similar situation? Share your stories—I’d love to hear how you handled your first car breakdown!