Z and I were on the way to Vivocity for a quick dinner today when he noticed something wrong with the van he was driving. We were cruising down the AYE expressway from Clementi when he first remarked that the brakes seemed to be a little faulty. However, it was just a fleeting thought and we thought nothing much about it.

We did notice that the vehicle moving a tad slower than usual tho.. After getting onto the expressway, we laughed when Z realised he had left his handbrake on. It was no wonder the van was moving so slowly!

Just as we were nearing the Alexandra Rd exit, we swerved onto the first lane to try and catch the exit only to discover that the brakes were not working at all!!. Thankfully, Z was calm and I was too stunned to panic as everything happened way too quickly. I can only say that loosing control of your vehicle while on an expressway with no end in sight is v.frightening!.

Anywaysss, to cut the long story short, we were well aware that there were angels in our midst because:

1. We were on the AYE during the peak hour. Yet the lane we were in when the brakes gave way had noticably less cars and we were able to let the van careen off safely to a stop. It was almost impossible to stop the van from moving unless we hit a tree or barrier…so this was god-working in itself.

2. The handbrake was on the whole time we were driving so the van could not go any faster! We had no idea how the handbrake could have been accidentally left on, but I know there’s no such things as coincidences!

3. A toll truck appeared almost immediately/out of nowhere after we got stranded and he said he was just ‘passing by’ when he saw us. He took the van to the garage in Thomson for a mere $50 when others we called said it would cost $150.

4. If we were going downhill / were on a slope when it happened, the situation might have been v. different.