Cyclist Survives Collision with Train Going 90 MPH
When the lights are red and the gate arms are down, stopping is a good idea at railroad crossings. But one young cyclist in Poland thought otherwise—and miraculously, he survived to tell the tale. You would think that getting hit by a train going 90 mph is a guaranteed death sentence, but in the official video of the accident, the cyclist appears to bounce off the front of the train and lands, relatively unscathed, in a nearby pile of rocks.
The video was only uploaded as "a lesson in how not to cross the tracks,” says Miroslaw Siemieniec, a spokesman for Polskie Koleje Panstwowe (Polish State Railways), the train company involved. In the first few seconds, you see the arms down and lights on at the railroad crossing, and the young cyclist rolls through the arms—and directly into the path of the train.
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Watch the terrifying video here:
If you have ride routes that typically cross railroad tracks, most of the safety precautions are obvious: If the arms are down or the lights are flashing, don’t cross. But even when no indicators are blinking, take a second and look both ways to make sure nothing is barreling towards you.
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Even crossing train tracks in safe conditions can be tricky, and Martha Roskowski, vice president of local innovation at People For Bikes, says, "The gap between the rail and the pavement is often big enough to catch a tire, with disastrous results.” Her advice is to always cross railroad tracks at right angles, even if you need to turn to do so. "While a diagonal path may seem safe, the steel rails can be slick, increasing the chances of your tire slipping into the gap.” You don’t want to get stuck on the tracks when a train could be coming your way.
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