Does the design of the barriers enable a vehicle to break through if it gets stuck on a level crossing between closed barriers?

The question is about a situation in which a vehicle has ended up on a level crossing between closed barriers. The design of the barriers allows you to break through them in order to drive off the level crossing. The answer is: yes.

The Road Traffic Act requires you, if a vehicle comes to a standstill on a level crossing, to remove it from the level crossing immediately, and prohibits entering a level crossing when the barriers have already started to come down. If, despite this, the barriers have closed behind you - because you entered too late or got stuck in a traffic jam on the tracks - the barrier arm is not an obstacle to be afraid of: the barrier arm has a breakaway safety device at its drive which, under light pressure from a car (approx. 10-15 km/h), lets you break it off without serious damage to the car - this is what the technical rules for level crossings require. The railway itself urges: in a dangerous situation, break through the barrier, then call 112 and give the number of the level crossing from the yellow sticker. The rule is simple: you never stay on the tracks so as "not to damage the barrier" - you drive forward through the arm, then stop in a safe place and report the incident.

Legal basis: Art. 28 para. 3 point 1 and 2 and para. 4 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym); § 50 para. 1 point 6 of the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of 9 July 2025 on the technical conditions for crossings of railway lines and railway sidings with roads (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1105)