Analysis of Brake Failure Causes and How to Save Yourself at Critical Moments

Recent traffic accidents have once again put large trucks in the spotlight. A big truck driving at night lost its brakes and rushed toward roadside shops and pedestrians, almost causing injuries. In Wenshan, a truck lost its brakes, resulting in a 9-car collision, but fortunately, no one was hurt.

▎Truck driver experiences a life-or-death speed situation when brakes fail on a downhill

This was an accident that happened this summer. At that time, a fully loaded dump truck lost control on a long downhill stretch due to brake failure.  

And during the descent, because of inertia, the front of the truck was already tilting forward, making the scene extremely tense. At the critical moment, the truck driver decisively jumped out of the vehicle, performing a real-life truck version of a high-speed life-or-death escape.  

▎Dump truck loses brakes and crashes into a supermarket, lady shoppers narrowly escape death

The incident took place in Lishui City. While an aunt was shopping at a fruit stand, something suddenly caused her to make a move and run away, because a large truck crashed into a wall panel and directly entered the supermarket. The reason was that the truck’s brakes failed, making it uncontrollable. From the video, you can see the vehicle rushing straight into the area where fruits were displayed. Luckily, the lady shopping ran fast, otherwise it would have been a scene straight out of a disaster movie.

When it comes to all kinds of traffic accidents, brake failure in large trucks is the most likely to cause accidents. And once an accident occurs, it usually results in serious injury or death, clearly showing the importance of brakes on large trucks. Many truck drivers know brakes are crucial, but repeated cases of truck brake failures causing accidents, and even deaths of truck drivers, still serve as a wake-up call.

● How brakes work

As a saying goes, you need to understand the reason behind something, and many drivers don’t know the braking principle of large trucks.

Most trucks still use drum brakes, but actually, no matter the type, the principle is the same: when you press the brake pedal, it activates a lever which then pushes the brake pump. The brake disc and brake pads generate braking force through friction, stopping the truck from moving forward.

▎ Common causes of brake failure

Since everyone already understands the basic working principle of brakes, you can now understand in daily life why certain actions can cause brake failure. However, in critical moments, they can be a hit to you.  

1. Continuously pressing the brake

As everyone above already knows, most trucks still use drum brakes. Drum brakes are cheap, but their biggest drawback is poor heat dissipation. On a small car, this isn't really noticeable.

But when it comes to big trucks, the problem of poor heat dissipation becomes pretty obvious, because trucks need longer braking distances and stronger stopping power. Frequent braking can cause the brake pads to overheat and fail, which is a common cause of brake failure.

2. Trucks speeding or overloaded

If brake pads suddenly fail, there might still be some uncontrollable reasons, but brake failure caused by an overloaded or speeding truck is 100% man-made. That's why they keep stressing to truck drivers not to speed or overload. Overusing a vehicle wears it out, causing parts to age and get damaged, which naturally increases the risk of problems.

3. Not enough regular maintenance

Very few truck drivers carefully check their brakes before every trip. If you can’t even keep up with regular maintenance, daily inspections can feel tedious and easy to skip. Little do they know, it’s this kind of carelessness that can make you lose control of your vehicle at a critical moment and lead to serious consequences.

If you want to do a job well, you must first sharpen your tools—truck drivers understand this. Brakes and seatbelts can really save your life in critical situations. Taking a few minutes to check them regularly and maintaining good habits can save you a lot of trouble.
 

4. Bad Driving Habits

Many truck drivers think they can handle the first three points — not overloading, not speeding, and strictly following traffic rules — and believe they won't have frequent incidents. They also say they pay attention to regular maintenance.

But in the end, there's still the issue of bad driving habits. The difference between an experienced driver and a rookie often comes down to habits. Many people will come up with a bunch of excuses, but there's actually a simple way to put it: cautious veteran drivers never take their foot off the brake pedal.
 

4. Bad Driving Habits

Many truck drivers think they can handle the first three points — not overloading, not speeding, and strictly following traffic rules — and believe they won't have frequent incidents. They also say they pay attention to regular maintenance.

But in the end, there's still the issue of bad driving habits. The difference between an experienced driver and a rookie often comes down to habits. Many people will come up with a bunch of excuses, but there's actually a simple way to put it: cautious veteran drivers never take their foot off the brake pedal.
 

1. Stay Calm

Many truck drivers feel like death is upon them when they discover their brakes have failed, especially in busy city areas or on the highway. At this moment, the most important thing is to stay calm. Otherwise, your mind goes blank, and combined with making wrong judgments under emergency situations, you might fail to take evasive action. You must calm down first, instead of immediately jerking the steering wheel or honking wildly.

2. Gently pull the handbrake and downshift to slow down

As mentioned before about not honking the horn crazily, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t honk at all. The idea is not to honk immediately in a panic. First, gently pull the handbrake and downshift to slow down. The engine also provides some resistance, which can effectively reduce the speed in critical moments. Once the speed is lowered, the truck driver will have better control over the vehicle.
 

3. Look for emergency lanes or safe areas

While downshifting and slowing down, truck drivers also need to do one more thing: carefully observe the surrounding road conditions and look for emergency lanes or areas where they can take shelter. On the highway, you can first drive the vehicle into the emergency lane to avoid collisions. If there’s an open space nearby, or something like a painted area that can be used as a safety limit, that works too.
 

4. Looking for Obstacles

Of course, it's not always possible to successfully find a way to avoid danger in every road situation. At this point, truck drivers can only use the last method: driving the vehicle along walls or guardrails to use these obstacles to slow down through friction. But you need to be careful—this is the last resort, and should be avoided if possible, since this approach does pose a certain potential risk to truck drivers.

Brake failure in trucks seems like a rare event, but if handled improperly, it can easily cause injury to the driver. To fundamentally prevent such accidents, the key is to develop good driving habits and perform regular checks. Preventing accidents is far more important than dealing with them after they happen.