If your vehicle gets stuck on a level crossing, are you required to first alert the train driver to the potential danger?

The question is about the order of actions after a vehicle comes to a standstill on a level crossing. Warning the driver of the rail vehicle is not the first duty - first you must remove the vehicle from the level crossing. The answer is: no.

The Road Traffic Act states that if a vehicle comes to a standstill on a level crossing, the driver is obliged to remove it from the level crossing immediately, and if this is not possible, to warn the driver of the rail vehicle of the danger. The rule sets a clear order: removing the vehicle comes first, because this is what really removes the danger; warning the train driver is a substitute action, in case the car cannot be moved. In practice you try to start the engine, and if you cannot, you push the car off the tracks with the help of passengers or other drivers - in a car with a manual gearbox, the starter motor in first gear will also move the car a few metres. Only when this fails do you lead people away from the tracks, run along the tracks towards the approaching train, giving signals, and call 112 with the number of the level crossing from the yellow sticker. The order comes from simple arithmetic: a clear track saves everyone, a warning may not come in time.

Legal basis: Art. 28 para. 4 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)