[Jason_W]

Fortunately I wasn't on the motorway at the time as the steering being nigh on impossible to turn.

There will be very little if any power steering assistance at motorway speeds, so there is nothing to worry about should the power steering stop working on the motorway.

It's only at low speeds/ when parking where the power steering assistance is required.

 

[Jason_W]

Unfortunately the failure mode that I had meant that the electrical power steering system failed such that the steering wheel was pretty much locked into position - I had to fight against the power steering system to be able to turn the wheel! It certainly wasn't a case of there being no power steering assistance available. Much like the fault in the previous Meriva model.

Oh I understand what you saying, so it was basically assisting against you, rather than offering no assistance.
In that scenario I would unplug the fuse for the EPS to stop it working altogether, as that is pretty dangerous.