In the event of immobilisation of a vehicle on a level crossing, are you obliged to warn the rail vehicle driver if it impossible to remove the vehicle from the level crossing?

In the photo you are approaching a level crossing over an electrified line; sign B-20 "STOP" is on the right, the barrier is raised, and other cars are crossing the tracks in front of you. If your vehicle comes to a standstill on the crossing and it cannot be removed, you must warn the driver of the rail vehicle about the danger. The answer is: yes.

The Road Traffic Act states that if a vehicle comes to a standstill on a level crossing, the driver must immediately remove it from the crossing, and if this is not possible - warn the driver of the rail vehicle about the danger. A train will not stop in time if the train driver only sees the obstacle once it is on the tracks, so the warning must get there earlier: first you let the passengers out and lead them away from the tracks, then you call the emergency number 112 and give the crossing number from the yellow sticker on the cross or on the barrier drive - the railway dispatcher will stop the trains. If you can already see a train, you run along the tracks towards it and give signals, for example by waving a jacket or a switched-on phone. If possible, you try to push the vehicle itself off the tracks.

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