Pennsylvania Runaway Truck Accident Reveals Dangers

Press Release, Jul 24, 2006

Pennsylvania Runaway Truck Accident Reveals Dangers Of Manual Adjustments To Automatic Slack Adjusters

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Transportation Safety Board adopted a final report today of a runaway truck accident in Pennsylvania that has shown the consequences of improper maintenance on automatic slack adjusters for air brake systems. The Board issued 11 safety recommendations aimed at improving training for drivers and mechanics who work with air brakes.

On April 11, 2003, in the Borough of Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, a dump truck was traveling southbound on a steep downgrade of Church Street, when the driver found that he was unable to stop the truck. The truck struck four passenger cars, one of which struck three children who were on the sidewalk. As a result of the collision, a driver and an 11-year-old child from one of the passenger cars were killed. The remaining vehicle occupants and the three pedestrians received serious to no injuries.

The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the accident was the lack of oversight by the truck's owner, Blossom Valley Farms, Inc., which resulted in an untrained driver improperly operating an overloaded, air brake-equipped vehicle with inadequately maintained brakes. Contributing to the accident was the misdiagnosis of the truck's underlying brake problems by mechanics involved with the truck's maintenance. Also contributing was a lack of readily available and accurate information about automatic slack adjusters and inadequate warnings about safety problems caused by manually adjusting them. Read more at ntsb.gov