Nowa Sucha. Expert on an accident at a railway crossing

Inexplicable in any respect – Wojciech Pasieczny assesses the behavior of the truck driver who caused a collision with a train in Nowa Sucha. The former head of the capital's traffic police draws attention to one detail of the incident. – Why did the barriers rise for a few seconds? – asks the guy, “You get up and you know.”

On Tuesday, a fatal accident occurred at a railway crossing in Nowa Sucha near Sochaczew. As a result of the collision of an Intercity train on the Bydgoszcz – Lublin route with a truck, several people were slightly injured. The next day, PKP PLK published a recording showing the circumstances of the accident.

It shows that the truck driver entered the railway crossing when the barriers were falling (one of them was broken by contact with the vehicle) and the red light was flashing at the signal. Instead of breaking the barrier, the man stopped the car on the tracks and got out. After several seconds, a speeding train hit the cargo space of the vehicle.

“This driver's behavior is truly inexplicable.”

The guest of Friday's program “You get up and know” on TVN24 was a road safety expert and former deputy head of the capital's traffic police, Wojciech Pasieczny. He drew attention to two drivers of passenger cars who managed to cross the crossing before the barriers fell. They entered the tracks despite the flashing red light.

– The drivers of these two cars committed an offense. The penalty for this is a fine of PLN 2,000 and 15 penalty points, Pasieczny said. – The third vehicle that entered the crossing at such light was this truck. The behavior of this driver is truly inexplicable in any respect, said the expert.

He emphasized that if the driver broke one barrier, he should also break the other one and leave the crossing. – He would then pay the fine, get penalty points, and the damage would be minor. Here he created a threat to himself, passengers and the train staff. There were a total of 125 people there, said the former policeman.

The expert asks about signaling. “Is it programmed correctly?”

The “You get up and you know” guest drew attention to one more detail, an issue that “has not been raised before.” – The barriers go up, the red light flashes alternately and after a few seconds the barriers close. Why did the barriers rise for a few seconds? – Wojciech Pasieczny wondered.

And he believed that it could have confused drivers who were right in front of the barrier. According to the expert, the truck driver thoughtlessly followed them. – I have one question: are the signals in this place well programmed? The barriers raise for a few seconds, only to close in a moment because another train is coming, Pasieczny described. – In my opinion, during the investigation that will be conducted here, experts should analyze whether the signaling worked together with the barriers and whether everything was set up correctly – said the expert.

We asked the PKP PLK spokesman for a comment. We will post his response when we receive it.

Charge against the truck driver, millions of dollars in losses

Polskie Linie Kolejowe estimated losses at approximately PLN 12 million, of which PLN 10 million was the repair of damaged rolling stock. The 57-year-old truck driver was detained.

– The man was interrogated and charged with causing a risk of a transport disaster – said prosecutor Bartosz Maliszewski, press spokesman for the District Prosecutor's Office in Płock, on Wednesday. – The suspect pleaded not guilty, gave explanations that were partially consistent with the evidence, and the prosecutor applied preventive measures against the driver – he added.

The offense under Article 174 of the Penal Code, i.e. causing the risk of a transport disaster, is punishable by imprisonment from six months to eight years, unless the perpetrator acts unintentionally, in which case he is liable to imprisonment for up to three years.