11 cars trapped between barriers at one crossing. What should you do if the exit closes?
Your car is still on the tracks and the barriers are down? Learn when to break through, when to evacuate, and how the yellow PLK sticker helps rescuers.
Between 21 June and 19 August 2026, police recorded 12 dangerous incidents at the level crossing on Helska Street in Puck. In 11 cases, cars were trapped between closed barriers. One barrier was damaged. These were not all accidents in the strict sense, but every incident created the conditions for a collision with a train.
The immediate answer is simple. If the car can move, do not wait for the barrier to rise. Leave the tracks at once. If a barrier blocks the exit, drive through it. Barriers at crossings managed by PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe are designed with an emergency breakaway feature.
The car moves? Get out, even through the barrier
A closed barrier is in front of you, another is behind you, and the car still works. Do not get out to inspect the mechanism. Do not reverse blindly or waste time guessing which direction a train may come from. Choose the route that lets you clear the whole crossing fastest and move. If the barrier prevents escape, push through it with the vehicle.
This emergency action does not make the earlier entry lawful. It protects life after the situation has already become dangerous. On 7 September in Ciecholowice, a driver entered while the barriers were descending. They damaged the front and rear windows, and she broke one barrier to leave the crossing. Police issued a PLN 3,000 fine and 15 penalty points. Their report did not say that breaking the barrier itself caused the fine. The dangerous entry was the violation.
The car will not move? Everyone gets out
If the engine has stopped, the vehicle is stuck or crash damage prevents it from moving, follow a different order:
- 1Get every person out immediately.
- 2Move away from the tracks to a safe place.
- 3Call 112.
- 4Give the crossing number from the yellow sticker if you can read it without returning to danger.
At PLK-managed crossings, the yellow sticker is placed on the track side, for example on the St Andrew's cross or the barrier drive housing. It contains a unique nine-digit crossing identifier. This lets the 112 operator locate the incident quickly and alert railway staff so trains can be stopped or slowed. Do not assume that every crossing in Poland has a PLK sticker, because not every crossing is managed by PLK.
Why cars become trapped
The emergency usually begins with a decision made several seconds earlier. A driver sees an open barrier and follows the vehicle ahead even though there is not enough room beyond the tracks for the entire car. The queue stops and the vehicle remains on the crossing.
A second trap appears after a train has passed. The barriers start to rise, but the red light is still flashing. You must not move yet. Another train may be approaching on the adjacent track and the barriers may close again. Entry is allowed only when the red signal has stopped and the barriers are fully raised.
The third mistake is trying to beat a descending barrier. Polish law prohibits entry from the moment the barriers begin to close. It does not matter whether the roof or mirrors could still fit underneath.
One check prevents most of these incidents
Before the tracks, look beyond the lights and barriers. Check the space on the far side. Enter only when the whole vehicle, including a trailer, can leave the crossing immediately. A moving queue does not guarantee space. A raised barrier is not permission to enter while the red signal is still flashing.
Lack of space beyond the tracks was the central factor in a fatal event near Błonie investigated by Poland's State Commission for Railway Accident Investigation. A lorry entered while the signals were off and the barriers open, but could not clear the crossing. The barriers later closed. The driver tried to escape, but the trailer remained in the train's clearance area and a collision followed.
The fine is high, but the real stakes are higher
Article 97a of the Polish Petty Offences Code covers driving around closed barriers, entering while they are descending or before they are fully raised, entering on a red signal and entering without enough space to continue. The statutory fine is at least PLN 2,000. The fixed-penalty tariff provides PLN 2,000, PLN 4,000 for a repeat offence within two years, and 15 penalty points.
From 15 September 2026, municipal guards will also be able to issue fixed penalties for conduct listed in Article 97a. This changes who can enforce the existing rules. It does not introduce a new ban or a new penalty.
Remember two instructions. A working car between the barriers: clear the tracks immediately and break through the barrier if it blocks the exit. A disabled car: get everyone out, move away and call 112. The safest opportunity comes before the emergency, when you wait until there is enough free space for your whole vehicle beyond the tracks.