📋 Tender Overview
Inspectors warn about safe crossing of railway tracks: drivers should cross the tracks only at marked crossings, follow the signs and ensure a safe crossing. Landowners must maintain transparency along the tracks. Violations are punishable by fines.Driving vehicles over railroad tracks is subject to similar warnings as when crossing on foot. When driving safely across railway tracks, basic safety rules must be observed, the observance of which prevents accidents from occurring or at least reduces their consequences.
Railway traffic inspectors of the Infrastructure Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia carry out inspections of crossing or driving over railway tracks, traffic signals at level crossings and the adequacy of the transparency area at unsecured level crossings. Adequate visibility allows road users to spot an oncoming rail vehicle or other hazards in time, thereby ensuring a safe and transparent ride across the level crossing.
Both the operator of the public railway infrastructure and the road operator must ensure the adequacy of the transparency area, which is stipulated in the fifth paragraph of Article 31 of the Railway Safety Act.
If the railway transport inspectors find any of the above-mentioned irregularities, based on Article 95 of the Railway Safety Act, we set a deadline by which they must be rectified. Violators are subject to a misdemeanor procedure: a fine of 200 to 500 euros is prescribed for natural persons, from 3,000 to 25,000 euros for legal entities, sole proprietors, and individuals who are self-employed, and from 500 to 1,200 euros for responsible persons of these entities.
Basic rules for owners and users of land and buildings in the track and buffer track strip
Railway traffic inspectors often find in inspection procedures that the transparency space when crossing the railway line is not guaranteed. The majority of irregularities are observed in the summer time, as overgrown vegetation or its inadequate maintenance mean that visibility is obstructed. We find individual cases when objects are placed in the visibility area that obstruct visibility on the track. Sometimes placed objects interfere with the transparency of the space.
Basic rules for drivers to drive safely across tracks
Rail transport inspectors find in inspection procedures that road vehicle drivers often do not follow even the basic rules of safe driving across railway tracks, so we repeat them:
1. Driving over the tracks only in designated places
To avoid accidents, drive over tracks only at secured or unsecured level crossings. Before crossing, reduce your speed, observe the traffic signals and pay special attention.
2. General rules for drivers
Stop the vehicle in front of the crossing if the signaling requires it.
Never drive onto the tracks if there is not enough space to continue driving safely.
Pay attention to traffic signs and road markings.
At secured level crossings, stop when the red light on the road signal is on, when the barriers or semi-barriers are being lowered, or when you hear sound signals. Always look left and right and dont rely solely on signage. Make sure you have enough space on the other side to exit the level crossing safely (for example due to the proximity of the intersection). Do not stop while driving across the tracks. Dont use distractions.
At unsecured level crossings, which are marked with the traffic sign Andrejev kriz, follow the traffic signals. When approaching, slow down or stop (STOP sign) and make sure the train is approaching. Dont try to outrun the train. Pay special attention to bad weather conditions (fog, rain, snow), which reduce visibility and increase reaction time.
In order to avoid inspection and infringement procedures, we urge the owners and users of land to consistently comply with the legal provisions, both regarding the implementation of works in the track and buffer line, as well as with regard to the appropriate cultivation of agricultural and forest areas and the timely management of vegetation that extends into the transparency area, because only by observing all the legal provisions and the appropriate implementation of measures to improve the transparency of the railway line can it be possible to ensure safe and efficient railway and road traffic. Here, we must not forget to follow the basic rules for drivers to drive safely across the tracks.
