Watch | Runaway Zambian truck flies down Van Reenen, uses opposite lane to avoid standing traffic

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A hair-raising moment was captured on video on Friday when a Zambia-registered truck came flying downhill on Van Reenen Pass with no braking power, narrowly missing a stationary traffic queue during cleanup from an earlier crash.

Two traffic police vehicles were holding back Durban-bound traffic, leaving a long line of vehicles parked on the notorious slope. In the footage filmed by a trucker going uphill, the runaway rig bursts into frame at extreme speed, hooter blaring and brights flashing desperately to warn others to clear the way.

Instead of staying in his downhill lane, the driver crosses completely into the fast lane meant for uphill traffic, shooting downhill on the wrong side of the freeway.

While some on social media have praised his quick reaction for avoiding a devastating crash, other truckers are pointing out that such a situation is often the result of negligence, poor brake management or failure to stop and cool off before descending a major pass like Van Reenen.

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Experienced drivers know Van Reenen is not the place to mess around, go over the speed limit or roast the brakes and you’re finished. Many are asking why the driver entered the pass without ensuring proper stopping power or doing a proper brake check. Once brakes are gone on that hill, there’s no recovery.

Smoke can be clearly seen coming off the wheels in the video, confirming total brake failure. It’s unclear how the truck eventually stopped, but reports suggest the slight incline after the slope may have slowed the rig enough, as no crash has been reported.

What’s worrying truckers is that this is not an isolated incident. Another truck from the same Zambian company recently went viral online after smashing into standing traffic when brakes reportedly failed, ploughing into another truck and an SUV.

This raises serious questions: is the problem poor maintenance, driver training, overloaded rigs, or something deeper in the cross-border transport system?

Watch the video below and tell us what you think.