Car hit by train during driving exam.

". ." (xllx) 08/23/2018 at 08:30 • Filed to: None

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An 18 year old woman has died in a collision between a train and a driving exam car. According to police reports, the exam car entered an unguarded railway crossing in Zaskale, Lesser Poland, before warning signals lit up. While negotiating the crossing, the car’s engine stalled. The examiner managed to save his life by escaping from the car before it was hit by the incoming train. The examinee, who remained in the car, had to be airlifted to the hospital in critical condition, where she passed away.

While the Police mention that examiners are responsible for any accidents that may happen during a driving exam, the case is being examined by a prosecutor, who will decide if any charges will be filed.

pip bip - choose Corrour > . . 08/23/2018 at 08:46

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goes to show you railway  crossings need to be eliminated.

. . > pip bip - choose Corrour 08/23/2018 at 08:48

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Back to the Future intensifies

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > . . 08/23/2018 at 08:57

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Wasn’t the examinee driving? And I assume wearing a seat belt? That doesn’t actually look that bad on the driver’s side, curious as to what happened.

Cé hé sin > pip bip - choose Corrour 08/23/2018 at 09:09

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Hugely expensive because you'd have to build a bridge or tunnel instead. Level crossings without barriers should certainly go though.

Ash78, voting early and often > Cé hé sin 08/23/2018 at 09:13

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In the US, we just call them “crossings” because unlike over there, they are 99% of all crossings -- the rule, not the exception . Most of them do have railings that lower (but can be gone around, which is the majority of all accidents here — people being stupid). But with tens of thousands of them, many in very rural areas, it isn’t always feasible. All of them, to my knowledge, at least have flashing lights and usually an audible alert.

But one accident in my college town 15 years ago was because the sun was low, it was right behind the flashing lights and they were imperceptible. It took a fatality before they finally put in a rail, which is too late — especially in a town of 20,000+ people, most of who were under the age of 25 and inexperienced/cocky.

Cé hé sin > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 08/23/2018 at 09:14

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Seat belt wouldn't have helped much in a side collision. I was wondering how the driver died too but she was still in the car and she'd have been thrown around inside.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > pip bip - choose Corrour 08/23/2018 at 09:17

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At the very least, they should be guarded. That's an electric train. She probably didn't hear it coming, and being an examinee, was obviously inexperienced enough to not look. 

smobgirl > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 08/23/2018 at 09:23

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If the examiner managed to get out I wonder if she had unbuckled or  opened the door but didn’t move fast enough to finish escaping. You’re right, the drivers side doesn’t really look that bad. 

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > smobgirl 08/23/2018 at 09:31

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This makes the most sense, examiner gets out and out of the way while the examinee fumbles with buckle and door and gets out but not out of the way in time.

LOREM IPSUM > . . 08/23/2018 at 10:00

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Fatality aside, that car looked like it held up fairly well against that train. Had she not been presumably mid-exit when it struck, it might not have been a fatal collision. Door shows no evidence o f being forced open by first responders, so one can only assume it was just very unfortunate timing.

facw > pip bip - choose Corrour 08/23/2018 at 10:33

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Can’t you see that the real culprit here is the stall-happy manual transmission?

In any event, this is pretty tragic. If the lights weren’t going I assume she had plenty of time to get out, and I’d hope that even if she was panicked and not thinking well, the examiner would have made sure she got out. Clearly we were not so lucky.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Cé hé sin 08/23/2018 at 10:48

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Granted it’s a tiny place compared to the US, but the vast majority of crossings in the UK have grade separation, particularly in cities.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Ash78, voting early and often 08/23/2018 at 10:52

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At grade crossings are always dangerous. Even with cars, the most dangerous parts of roads are almost always the intersections.

Of course, the US had train tracks laid down and covering vast portions of the country before it had paved roads, so it’s no surprise that so few have grade separation outside major cities.

Ash78, voting early and often > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 08/23/2018 at 10:57

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My wife is semi-scared of the interstate, but comfortable on local 2-lane roads. I’m the opposite — at least on the interstate, we’re all moving in the same direction at nearly the same speed. Locally you have blind t-intersection, head-on traffic, much less room for error.

I’m a big fan of roundabouts to help eliminate deadly T-bones, but that’s takes a lot of infrastructure and land acquisition to fix.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Ash78, voting early and often 08/23/2018 at 11:06

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I am the same way. Surface streets are dangerous and roundabouts are great (when people know how to use them, which is rare among North Americans).

Check this bad boy out, which sticks in my mind (possibly because it didn’t have trees in the middle and therefore you could see it all as you drove through it) as about the most expensive, but sweetest and most efficient, rural interchange I’ve ever used: https://goo.gl/maps/Nz5fUUcf6dF2

They have similar ones all over that area, though most don’t have quite the same size nor do they occur at the confluence of so many roads.

Ash78, voting early and often > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 08/23/2018 at 11:11

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Small world -- I’ve been to within 100 yards of that spot, but by rail. That’s Svend’s neck of the woods, did you happen to get that link from him?

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Ash78, voting early and often 08/23/2018 at 11:12

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No, just a quick google “share” link.

And yes, that is his area. I like it a lot up there and  would gladly live in the area if given the opportunity .

WilliamsSW > Cé hé sin 08/23/2018 at 15:29

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The city of Chicago (which has a hell of a lot of railroad tracks) has very, very few at-grade crossings thanks to a long ago effort to eliminate them.  It can be done, but no, it’s not cheap.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Cé hé sin 08/23/2018 at 18:29

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They’re removing a lot here in Melbourne currently

Done 20 with 30 to go

pip bip - choose Corrour > facw 08/23/2018 at 18:30

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Sadly stall happy manual is probably correct