Stemming Truck Crashes Caused By Brake Failure

OLORUNDARE ENIMOLA, Lagos

Traffic management experts have said brake failures are responsible for most of truck crashes, accounting for about 66% of total crashes in the last five years.

One of the several crashes caused by brake failure occurred on Monday 11, November, in Ayetoro, Epe area of Lagos, involving a Dangote truck with a failed brake, leading to the death of three people.

Adebayo Taofiq, a spokesperson for the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA), in a statement said the truck suffered a brake failure and crashed into two vehicles.

The accident led to the death of a tricycle driver and two students from Manpower Technical School.

“The calamity involved a Dangote truck (DCG-TM-028), which experienced a critical brake failure while descending from Ita-Opo,” the statement reads in part.

“The out-of-control vehicle collided with a tricycle (Marwa AGL 442 QC) and a stationary Toyota Camry at the Ayetoro traffic light before veering into the Ayetoro Market Complex in Epe.” He said.

The assertion by experts that brake failure accounts for 66% of mechanical faults, causing fatal crashes was corroborated by truck drivers involved in various road crashes, who are quick to transfer the blame from themselves to the failure of the brake, undermining the failure on their part to properly maintain the braking system against such occurrence. 

The breaking system of every vehicle is so indispensable, that the slightest neglect on it can lead to colossal damage, and many a times lead to loss of lives and properties worth millions.

Unfortunately, many truck owners are not paying the required attention to the brake of their truck just as they care less about the general maintenance of their trucks.

As a matter of fact, the rate of crashes in the industry, due to brake failures and casualties recorded every year is still alarming, especially when you realise that the crashes could be voided if the necessary precautions were taken.

Today, a large percentage of the truck crashes on Nigerian roads are over brake system failure. 

Auto experts and technicians have said brake failure is preventable and completely avoidable, stressing that the major cause of brake failure in truck or any other type of vehicle is negligence; lack of maintenance or poor maintenance; ignorance; substandard parts; over confidence; and over speeding.

Engineer Francis Okezie, said: “Braking system is a combination of different components that make up a system that ensures the vehicle stops when required and functions as it is being designed.

He said "when there is a flaw in the original design of the system, it can fail”.

Speaking further, Okezie said the remote cause of brake failure is poor maintenance, emphasising that the braking system is an important unit in a vehicle that should be thoroughly looked into.

He maintained that the basic maintenance is an important thing that must be carried out at intervals, as prescribed by the manufacturer.

“Unfortunately, because of the Nigerian mentality, we don’t carry out the required maintenance and this is affecting us seriously and equally exposing us to various dangers on the roads. If you look at the manual, the manufacturer will advise that the brake lining should be replaced regularly. But Nigerians will not replace it”, he said.

Funsho Falemi, Chief engineer, Lenox Auto Merchants, Ikorodu, gave a technical perspective on the matter, stating, “There are different types of braking system. We have; pneumatic system, a mechanical system and a hydraulic system. There is also a system that combines pneumatic and mechanical”.

“Whatever the type of braking system any vehicle is using, the manufactures have stated that the system should be checked and overhauled after a given period and if there is a need, it should be changed. If it is not done as recommended by the manufactures, the brake will fail.

“Our problem in Nigeria is that once we are using something and it is working for us, we don’t bother to check whether it is expired or not. We don’t care whether it is due for replacement or service since it is still working, until it fails or stop working”, Falemi said.

According to Falemi, the mechanical part of a brake will always give sign before it will fail completely. Although, the pneumatic part of the brake may not give sign simply because the pipe that carried the air will leak, but if there is a regular check as recommended by the truck manufacturers, any form of leaking would have been detected before it happened.

He, however, revealed that there is an inbuilt technology in every truck that can help drivers to detect any imminent brake failure.

He said the gadgets are inbuilt in trucks and any other vehicles to checkmate or eliminate sudden accidents as a result of brake failure, especially if it is coming directly from the pneumatic system. 

According to him, the technology is called the brake Actuator.

 “The Actuator is designed in such a way that whenever there is leakage somewhere, it will compress and stop the vehicle, But most of the times when the actuator develops problem, the truck owner will rather block it and render it useless rather than fixing it and once it is blocked, there is nothing to stop the vehicle when there is leakage. This is why I keep emphasising that lack of maintenance is the major cause of brake failure”, Falemi said.

“Insensitivity of the driver as well as over speeding, making him apply the brake suddenly when already close to a barrier, can also cause brake failure. Inexperience of the driver can also cause brake failure.

“For instance, when he is descending a hill, there is an engine brake that can be used instead of the normal brake, it will help to reduce the speed and also control the vehicle. 

“We also have a rain brake that can be applied when it is raining and you are on speed but unfortunately, many people don’t know and they don’t use all these gadgets,” Falemi averred.

Captain Dele Abisogun, (Rtd), Managing Director, Dee Trucks Nigeria Limited, said: “Although there are unforeseen circumstances, such as design error or any unimaginable thing that can cause brake failure, yet brake failure is preventable. 

“A higher percentage of brake failure is caused by lack of maintenance, the driver’s ignorance and negligence, when ignorance and maintenance issue can be taken care of, I can tell you that the issue of brake failure will be reduced to barest minimum if not completely eradicated because even the unforeseen circumstance that we are talking about is not uncommon”.

He, therefore, called on truck drivers and owners to make the braking system of their vehicle a priority. 

“My advice to truck drivers and owners is that they should not underestimate the power of brakes. They should not take a deadly risk on the road. They should always keep to the rule of maintenance and avoid jeopardising their lives and those of other road users. When they see or notice a sign of brake defect in their vehicle, they should rectify it immediately.

“They should always have in mind that the best swimmer can equally die while swimming. They should also avoid usage of narcotics and alcoholic substances while driving; because, it has been found that narcotic and alcoholic substances always give the drivers false confidence”. 

Adamu Gbadegesin, a truck technician on hydraulic systems, said: “Poor maintenance culture is the mechanical cause of accidents on the road, stressing that brake will not just fail without giving the driver signs, when there is signal, the driver and the truck owners will keep managing it until it completely fails, adding that most truck owners are fond of buying substandard spare parts which causes problems in the long run.

“Another problem is the existence of quacks who parade themselves as mechanics in the industry, but end up compounding the problems of truck owners, negatively contributing to the causes of accidents on our roads.

He urged truck owners to try as much as possible to buy original spare parts and patronise genuine mechanics. Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, should also regulate the importation of spare parts by ensuring that substandard parts are not allowed into the country.

Though there is a huge dependency on the roads for haulage, yet the sector is not quite healthy, due to the myriad of challenges confronting it, especially the high incidence of crashes involving trucks used for hauling purposes.

The challenges of this sector, leading to the high volume of accidents involving trucks stems largely from the operators of haulage companies, who are driven by an insatiable desire for gains and more gains thereby compromising the most fundamental and critical need for safety.

The mad drive for huge returns on investment has led many truck owners to take unhealthy decisions that are unsafe in an attempt to cut cost, with some of the decisions causing irredeemable damage to the industry and other road users.

It is not uncommon therefore, to find these operators people who are majorly uneducated, untrained from any standardized driving school, not properly licensed to drive trucks and some are nothing, but drug junkies who are mere motor boys living practically by following trucks as loaders as truck drivers.

To worsen the situation, most of these truck drivers are not well remunerated, earning incomes not sufficient to meet pressing needs; they are compelled to cut corners in order to make ends meet.