Dangerous Polish rail crossings
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
31.08.2018 18:00
Thirteen people died in July and August on rail crossings in Poland, according to the PAP news agency.
Photo: pvdv63/pixabay.com/CC0 Creative Commons
There were 52 accidents over the two months at sites where a road intersects a rail line.
Poland has around 14,000 such crossings and they have often proved a deadly trap for the unwary.
PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, which manages Poland’s railway infrastructure, said that 99 percent of accidents on roads which cross rail lines are caused by drivers’ dangerous behaviour.
"Drivers made the same mistakes: ignoring stop signs and red lights ... driving under barriers as they were descending, driving around smaller barriers and driving too fast..." Polskie Linie Kolejowe said, as cited by PAP.
An 18-year-old woman died during a driving test on August 23 after a train ploughed into her car on a rail crossing in southern Poland.
According to reports, the car’s engine had stalled; the examiner survived by jumping out just before the train hit.
(pk/gs)
Source: PAP