Scottish investigations are looking into an incident involving one dead pedestrian and a massive brake failure. Current information suggests that the truck experiencing brake failure struck a pedestrian and somehow traveled around 150 yards in an almost straight line before it came to rest after striking a hotel.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the driver of the vehicle slumped over at the wheel, prompting speculation that he may have suffered a heart attack or other physical seizure. He is now being treated in hospital.
A spokesman for the Institute of Traffic Accident Investigators said that vehicles, even large ones, can carry on for a considerable distance if there is an “unintended acceleration”, which could be caused by a driver falling ill – and perhaps going into a spasm – with their foot on the accelerator, or by someone inadvertently pressing the accelerator rather than the brake.
The man, who asked not to be named, said: “Without speculating on this incident, there might be a number of causes for a vehicle to travel a considerable distance.If there is no external influence on the steering direction of the vehicle, then it will continue in a straight line. An external influence might be a driver applying steering, or the wheels coming into contact with something like a curb. Regarding the distance traveled, one would expect a vehicle to slow if the driver’s foot had been removed from the accelerator, due to engine braking. And of course if the brake were applied one would expect it to slow.”
The spokesman said that in the eventuality of a brake failure a driver can also slow a vehicle by changing down through the gears.
So far there is no information regarding criminal charges to follow or the exact reason the incident happened.
