The truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin last week might have been cut short when the truck automatically deployed its brakes, the result of European Union regulations that require automatic braking systems on large trucks.
The new detail, revealed jointly by Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and broadcasters earlier this week, could explain why the truck came to a stop after a few hundred feet. In the end, 12 people were killed in the attack, but there are indications that the EU-mandated advanced emergency braking system may have prevented more deaths.
It previously was thought that Lukasz Urban, the Polish truck driver whose vehicle had been hijacked, may have fought with the attacker in the moments before the rampage.
Instead, the 40-ton Scania PRT truck may have driven erratically and ultimately stopped because the brakes were deployed.
EU regulations adopted in 2012 require that all trucks heavier than 3,500 kilograms (3.9 tons) be fitted with an advanced emergency braking system. The systems use radar and cameras to detect obstacles and warn the driver.
In the event of a crash, the brakes may stop the vehicle entirely.
Although the driver can override the brakes, an inexperienced user may not know how.