Accidents at rail crossings cause concern

Five soldiers were killed and six were injured when an express train ploughed into their military vehicle at a rail crossing in the eastern part of the country on Thursday. This tragedy has highlighted the extremely high number of accidents that happen at Czech rail crossings every year.

Accidents at rail crossings cause concern

Accident of the military vehicle at a rail crossing, photo: CTK

Car accidents at rail crossings are inevitably the most tragic - and Czech rail crossings have become a death trap for many Czech drivers. 298 accidents at rail crossings last year in which 68 people died and 156 were injured reveal how serious the situation is. Transport Ministry spokeswoman Marcela Svejnohova says that although more money goes into road safety every year, undisciplined drivers keep the road accident statistics very high:

"The Czech Republic has a very dense rail network which means that the number of crossings is also very high but there is no question of the crossings being a road hazard. Each and every one of them fulfils the given safety norms and is equipped either with lights or both lights and barriers. If drivers respected road safety regulations there would be much fewer accidents. Statistics show that in 99 percent of cases it is drivers who are responsible for the accident -not a malfunctioning warning system at the crossing."

Accident of the military vehicle at a rail crossing, photo: CTK

Although all the rail crossings in the country meet existing norms experts on road safety suggest that the criteria need to be much stricter. The most accidents happen at crossings without barriers. Drivers are impatient and often disregard flashing lights. The transport ministry says that it is aware of this and has promised to gradually equip as many crossings as possible with barriers. It is now targeting around 30 of the most dangerous crossings.

The ministry recently unveiled an ambitious road safety plan which aims to cut the number of road deaths by a half by the year 2010. If it is to work, rail crossings in the Czech Republic will have to become much safer, especially in view of the fact that more of them are in the process of being established.