Tanker driver in Poznań escapes train at level crossing by seconds

A near miss at the Lutycka Street crossing

On Monday, 26 October, at around 17:00, a tanker truck driven by a 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen drove onto the level crossing on Lutycka Street in Poznań, police said. A traffic jam on the far side of the tracks left him no room to continue, so the vehicle stopped on the crossing. The barriers began to come down while the truck was in the middle of the crossing, and one of them came down just behind the cab. A passenger train was approaching, and the driver got clear of the tracks only a few seconds before it passed, which police described as a very dangerous incident. No one was hurt, and the train went through the crossing.

Accounts differ on the barrier

Accounts differ on how the truck got clear of the tracks. Police spokesman Łukasz Paterski told Polsat News that another driver managed to force a barrier open, after which the tanker drove away. RMF24 and epoznan.pl, citing police, say instead that the tanker driver set off at the urging of other drivers and damaged a barrier in doing so. A reader's account published by epoznan.pl describes a person getting out of a vehicle to lift a barrier by force before the tanker left. A recording of the incident spread online on Monday afternoon, and Paterski confirmed to RMF24 that the footage was authentic.

The driver's account and the penalties

Several hours after the incident, the driver went to a police station in the Jeżyce district, where he was questioned and admitted guilt, police said. Officers suspended his driving licence and asked a court to punish him for creating a road traffic hazard. According to police, he entered the crossing while the barriers were still raised and was convinced he would get across in time, but the jam blocked his exit. Paterski described the driver's move to the station to Polsat News:

“A few hours later, this driver reported to the police station.”

The penalties he faces include detention of up to 30 days, restriction of liberty or a fine of up to 30,000 zloty.

The cargo and the warning

The tanker was carrying plant fertiliser, which is not marked as a hazardous substance, according to police. Police said the driver was sober and held the licence needed to drive a tanker of that type. Police stressed that drivers should be especially careful and should not enter a level crossing when the road beyond it is blocked. Officers are still reviewing how the incident unfolded.