[UPDATE on Mar. 18 at 7:20pm: This article has been updated with a statement from GetGo.]

A GetGo car was caught on camera mounting the kerb and hitting a lamppost in Punggol, after failing to stop behind other cars at a traffic junction.

A video of the incident is circulating online, and prompted some to speculate that the driver was sleeping, or not paying attention for some other reason.

However, keen-eyed commenters put forward a different theory of what happened, suggesting that it may not have been the driver's fault.

What the video showed

The undated video showed a Mazda 3 bearing the GetGo livery travelling north along Punggol Way, towards the Punggol Field intersection, where some cars had stopped at the road junction.

As it passed under a pedestrian overhead bridge, the GetGo car's brake lights came on.

However, the car did not appear to slow down.

As it came closer to the stationary cars ahead, the car veered left, mounted the kerb, and hit a lamppost before coming to a halt.

It did not appear to hit any other vehicles.

The brake lights remained on up till the point of impact.

Commenters suspect brake failure

The car's brake lights were on as the car approached the junction, and were on for at least 5 to 7 seconds before the car mounted the kerb.

Commenters on Facebook shared their suspicion that the car's brakes may have failed and that the car driver had taken evasive action to prevent ramming into the vehicles ahead.

The distance between the pedestrian overhead bridge (where the car's brake lights came on) and the lamppost (which the car eventually hit) is about 100 metres.

According to the highway code, the estimated braking distance of a car travelling at 60km/h is 27 metres.

Vehicle had undergone routine maintenance on Mar. 14

Mothership reached out to GetGo for more information, and received a statement on Mar. 18 stating that the vehicle involved "had just returned from routine maintenance days before the accident" without faults, on Mar. 14.

"Additionally, the vehicle was used for two bookings from Mar. 15-16, with the users indicating no issues with the vehicle’s brakes or other components," said GetGo.

GetGo said the user on Mar. 17 "did not report any brake malfunctions" when driving off from the carpark. The company added:

"We would like to highlight that when a user raises a vehicle safety concern at any point during their booking, our agents will assess and immediately inform the user not to proceed further if the car is deemed unsafe to drive. After which, we will activate our operations team to head down to inspect the vehicle."

GetGo also said that "any commentary about the vehicle’s braking distance is speculation", saying that "brake lights do not indicate the amount of pressure being applied to the brakes, as the light can turn on with even the slightest tap of the brake pedal".

The company added that it was collaborating with the Traffic Police to support their investigation, and urged members of the public to refrain from speculating on the cause of the incident until the investigation is concluded.

Top photo via Roads.sg on Facebook