A long day today, made longer by the after-effects of a crash involving a tram and a van on the junction of ul. Wilanowska and Puławska. The driver of the white Fiat van cut across the path of a north-bound number 10 tram. According to the
TVN Warszawa reporter, the driver was trapped in the cab and had to be cut free by firemen. Taxi drivers on the scene told me that the van driver was seriously injured and that the traffic jam heading into town was over 2km long. Trams were caught up in the jam too; I was on a south-bound number 10, and at Wilanowska the driver ushered out all the passengers. North-bound trams were stationary all the way from Wilanowska to Al. Lotników.
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| Firemen examine the cab of the van after freeing the driver |
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| Fire engines and the van blocking two lanes of Puławska and the taxi rank |
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| Town-bound traffic had to squeeze past using three-quarters of one lane |
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| The tram sustained a smashed windscreen. No reports of casualties. |
This type of collision is sufficiently common for Warsaw's public transport authorities to make a video warning drivers about the danger. It is shown non-stop on the newer Swing trams with video screens, watched by tram passengers such as myself - but not by car drivers (or indeed van drivers from Poznań). Watch for yourself what happens when a tram hits a car at speed...
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4 comments:
How long before someone blames the crash on the condition of the road?
I must say that a flyover (N-S or E-W) would be highly welcome here at the convergence of five busy roads.
Failing a flyover how about a roundabout. The amount of time wasted when lights are at red is astronomical.
This morning in a 165 bus I waited 105 seconds from the light turning red on Wilanowska to it turning green and allowing the bus to make the last hundred or so metres to the bus terminus.
Yes - a 'turbine' roundabout - like the one at Rondo Babka - is an ideal solution if a flyover is too expensive.
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