Coach crash

My first ever foray abroad was a school trip in April 2001. We visited Luxembourg, Paris, nearby Disneyland, Nurnberg and Prague, all within 6 days. We went there by coach. To save on accommodations, we spent 3 out of 6 nights in the coach.

In 2005, I travelled by coach on my own to my friend's family in western Germany. The very journey lasted 19 hours (one way), but the return ticket set me back mere PLN 287. Such was the way most people travelled to western Europe in early post-EU-accession times. Poles were taking 30-hou- long trips to Victoria station in London, sometime before the advent of low-cost airlines.

Now let's look at most tragic bus crashes in the twenty-first century:
1 July 2002, Hungary, coach carrying pilgrims, 19 fatalities, 32 injured,
22 July 2007, France, coach carrying pilgrims, 26 fatalities, 24 injured,
26 September 2010, Germany, coach on a regular route, 14 fatalities, 47 injured,
19 July 2014, Germany, trip coach, 11 fatalities, 69 injured,
6 August 2022, Croatia, coach carrying pilgrims, 12 fatalities, 32 injured.

When I heard of the Polish coach accident in Germany last Sunday, my first thought was: "those must have been pilgrims". A lot has changed over the last decade. Travelling by planes has become more affordable, private motoring has become more prevalent, long-distance trains are getting more popular. The very latter, given environmental impact of various forms of travelling, needs to be developed. 

Today nearly nobody takes many-hour trips by coach, except for pilgrims, who hold strong as the last bastion of low-cost travels. I wonder what drives it. Is it the cost only? Is the door-to-door journey character not facilitated by other means of transport a meaningful factor? Is it the fear of flying? Or maybe the collective character of being a group of people stuck together inside a vehicle rented for them only? Whatever the reason is, they choose the least safe (except for private motoring) form of travelling. I wonder if they have all those risks in mind. Even if so, do they think God takes care of them and shields them from risks? And if the risks materialises, do they perceive it a God's will?

I recently travel a lot and each time I set off, I have it and the back of my mind I might not be back home safe and sound. So far, each my return home was without tribulations and I feel deep gratitude for it.

On cycling and conspiracy theories

The sudden departure of lower-house deputy and charity activist Łukasz Litewka brought shock and grief on many, including me. Of all actors of the Polish political arena, no other had brought in more benevolence to the disadvantaged, terminally ill and animals. The tragic twist of fate have chosen him to pass away as a fatality in a traffic accident. 

A noble, young man suddenly departs, leaving a question why. Just like a Smolensk air crash, the accident looms as so improbable that it goes beyond comprehension of many.

The likelihood of being run over in a head-on collision with a car on a road in a middle of a forest is tiny, yet not equal to zero and with a large dose of bad luck, it materialised. Had he left home half a minute earlier or later, he would have escaped death. Most of us, including me, have averted a major accident more than once by dint of being a few seconds earlier or later in a deadly spot.

The theories of an alleged assassination began to sprout very shortly after his tragic death. Their authors claim Mr Litewka was inconvenient to many by speaking openly of paedophiles and zoophiles in Kłodzko or by messing with owners of crummy animal shelters. Frankly speaking, I do not buy it.

Facebook with its nefarious algorithms has suggested me a group (I deliberately leave out its name and will not link to it) whose members strive to call into question the official version of what we know about the accident or (less often) try to come up with alternative explanations. Out of pure curiosity, I tried to go through some of the postings, most of which do not hold water altogether, defy the common sense and basic laws of physics. Not to mention in this country of seasonal, yet not seasoned expert, thousands of skilled specialists in traffic accidents involving cyclists have mushroom within last two weeks. On top there are people who post provocative notes soaking with crass stupidity, while other group members fall for their twaddle. I do not commend this, a this a slap on the face of the deceased's nearest and dearest. Overall, I look at the group with disdain, but would not favour censorship here, as any attempts to close their mouths would trigger siege mentality.

The tragic accident ought to bring about a discussion on cyclists' safety. At the scene there was no cycling path, no pavement, no roadside, no separation of vulnerable traffic participants from motor vehicles. Mr Litewka did not wear a helmet, which that time would not have helped him, but in many cases helmets saved lives or prevented serious injuries.

Last Sunday I cycled 102.51 kilometres thus have beaten my record of 100.00 kilometres set on 7 June 2021. On the last day of the long weekend several people went for recreational bike rides. On the 90th kilometre of my journey, having coasted through Bulwary Wiślane chock full of people I was approaching Most Łazienkowski and nearly had a head-on collision with a fellow cyclist. I quickly skimmed on the rear brake and then on the front on and then gently swerved. The fellow speeding cyclist had far less reason and skill and ended up somersaulting over the handlebar. She had a helmet and luckily the only injuries were bruises and a swollen knee with a bleeding wound. Hearteningly, most people around stopped by to check if she needed medical aid. I waited half an hour until the culprit was picked up from the scene by her relatives.

Given the level of thoughtlessness among cyclists, an incident was just a matter of time. Unless you collide with a car, cycling gives much less room for serious injuries compared to travelling by car. Yet, sins of cyclists overlap those of motorists. Speeding, aggressive overtaking, not looking back ahead of overtaking, not signalling an intention to turn, abrupt braking, stopping for no reason and blocking infrastructure are those I see most often. There are several cases of cyclists not minding pedestrians, or less experienced cycling path users (elderly people, families with children), the plague are food delivery bandits on electric bikes doing at 40 kmph on cycling paths. 

I advocate cycling, moving around and commuting by bike and building infrastructure for muscle-propelled vehicles, but we also need education and enforcement of traffic rules on cycling paths. An aggressive bike rider would definitely do less harm than a speeding idiot behind a wheel of a motor vehicle, but cycling paths, except for where they cross roads, should be a safe place. At least I wish they were safer than they are now. I cycle a lot and if the traffic is dense and fellow cyclist not considerate, it can be stressful.

Road hogs

While ahead of the oncoming election politicians try to scare Poles with migrants whose influx would increase criminality rates, bad news is that migrants are already here and they already wreak havoc. In several low-paid professions migrants from poorer countries will need to fill the gap left by domestic workers reluctant to accept low wages. Such has been the case in all developed countries.

In Poland one of such profession is a “taxi” driver. I put the word which some time ago used to mean what it meant, since on the market spoilt by Uber and Bolt, the over-supply is composed of przewóz osób (literally “a passenger carriage”) and by innowacyjne taksówki (literally “innovative taxis”).

The over-supply of ride-hailing entrepreneurs has brought ride rates to dirt-cheap levels. Given that a taxi driver needs to buy fuel, pay insurance, pay for vehicle maintenance, earn for a vehicle’s depreciation (or rental) and get paid for an hour behind the wheel around the minimum wage, there is no chance a driver can make ends meet with all-in price below PLN 1.50 per kilometre. To minimise costs, they most often used “taxi” car in Warsaw these days is Toyota Prius, the oldest hybrid model, aged over 10, with some half a million kilometres on the clock, with LPG as the third propulsion. Behind the wheel – hardly ever a Pole.

Below the summary of what was happening on the streets of Warsaw over the course of last three weeks. The source of all information and photos are Miejski Reporter or Wawa Hot News 24 pages.

Saturday, 29 March
A Toyota Corolla driver beyond the borders of Warsaw crashes into a roadside tree. The car goes into flames.

Saturday, 29 March
Plac Trzech Krzyży. A Toyota Prius driver cuts in on another driver, causing a smash-up.

Sunday, 30 March
Al. Jerozolimskie, close to Blue City shopping mall. A Toyota Corolla driver rear-ends a queue of vehicles.

Sunday, 30 March
An intersection of ul. Bitwy Warszawskiej 1920 and ul. Szczęśliwicka. A Toyota Prius driver crashes into the other cars. Earlier that day he caused another collision, but he fled from the spot.

Sunday, 30 March
Exactly the same unfortunate spot. A Toyota Prius driver cuts in on two public transport buses.

Sunday, 30 March
Al. Jana Pawła II, a collision of 4 cars, including two ride-hailing vehicles. This time no info if any of the “taxi” driver was the culprit.

Sunday, 30 March
An intersection of ul. Instalatorów and ul. Rakowska. A Toyota Prius driver runs over a cyclist (a food delivery courier).

Friday, 4 April
An intersection of ul. Puławska and ul. Malczewskie- go. Two ride-hailing vehicles (a Toyota Corolla and a Volkswagen Golf) collide.

Sunday, 6 April
Ul. Łokietka. And watch out, this time a Toyota Prius driver was not a culprit, but was unlucky to be in a wrong place, on a wrong time.

Tuesday, 8 April
An intersection of Al. Jerozolimskie and Plac Starynkiewi- cza. A Toyota Prius driver violates the right of way and cuts in on a motorcyclist.

Tuesday, 8 April
An intersection of ul. Rakowiecka and ul. Boboli. A Toyota Prius driver also does not care about the right of way.

Thursday, 10 April.
Ul. Połczyńska. A Toyota Prius driver smashes into another Toyota Prius, which in turn rear-ends an innocent Opel Astra.

Thursday, 10 April
An intersection of al. 4 Czerwca and ul. Chrościckiego. This time Toyota Prius driver is not guilty.

Thursday, 10 April
Ul. Świerszcza. A Toyota Corolla driver causes a head-on collision with a Peugeot.

Friday, 11 April
An intersection of ul. Grójecka and ul. Wawelska. A Toyota Prius driver hits into a Hyundai.

Friday, 11 April
Most Łazienkowski. A Toyota Corolla driver collides with a lorry.

Friday, 11 April
Ul. Woronicza, A Toyota Prius driver, after colliding with another car, lands on tram tracks.

Friday, 11 April
An intersection of ul. Pilewskiego and ul. Ciszewskiego. A Toyota Prius driver fails to give right of way to a BMW.

Friday, 11 April
An intersection of ul. Ciszewskiego and ul. Rosoła. A Toyota Corolla driver also does not give a damn about right of way.

Wednesday, 16 April
An intersection of al. Jana Pawła II and ul. Nowolipki. Again, a Toyota Prius driver and the right of way violated.

Thursday, 17 April
An intersection of al. Jerozolimskie and ul. Krucza. A Toyota Yaris Cross driver hits a pedestrian.

 

 

I am not urging you not to take cheap taxis in Warsaw, but beware, as the risk of not reaching your destination safe and sound is elevated. Meanwhile, have a peaceful Easter!