Should you make sure that no rail vehicle is approaching before entering onto the rail tracks?

In the photo you are approaching a level crossing over an electrified line; the barriers are raised, sign B-20 "STOP" is on the right, and a dark car is coming from the opposite direction. Before entering the tracks, you must make sure that no rail vehicle is approaching - raised barriers do not guarantee this. The answer is: yes.

The Road Traffic Act requires a driver approaching a level crossing and driving over it to exercise particular caution, and before entering the tracks to make sure that no rail vehicle is approaching, and to take appropriate precautions, especially when visibility is reduced. The Regulation on road signs and signals states that sign B-20 in front of the tracks means no entry without stopping. Barriers and signals are technical devices - they can fail, and the crossing keeper can make a mistake; the last line of defence is the driver who looks and listens. You stop in front of the STOP sign, look both ways along the tracks, and when nothing is coming, you drive across without stopping on the tracks.

Legal basis: Art. 28 para. 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym); § 21 para. 1 and 4 of the Regulation on road signs and signals