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‘Cyclist Vs. 90 MPH Train’ Video Gets 1.3 Million Views: Bicycle Rider Crashes Into Train And Survives [Video]

By Paula Mooney
Published on: 00:22 PST, Dec 11, 2015

The amazing video below is titled “Cyclist vs. Train,” and it shows the moment when a bicycle rider apparently tried to cycle straight over the train tracks when a train was barreling down from his left. The cyclist was hit and knocked away from the train tracks but amazingly survived.

https://youtu.be/GTLDX9eBy_w

The 26-year-old survived crashing into the train after the cyclist ignored the train crossing signal being down, reports the Daily Mail. The publication reports that the dramatic CCTV video of the incident has been viewed more than one million times. If the bicycle rider had arrived at the train track one or two or three seconds earlier, he might have been killed by the train.

Instead, the man only suffered minor injuries after being taken to the hospital. The bicycle rider ran into the train in Opole, a town in the southern region of Poland. The speeding train could’ve very well killed the rider after he ignored the crossing signal and attempted to go around the downed crossing guard arm that was there to protect folks from doing exactly what the bicycle rider did.

After viewing the video, folks pontificate whether or not the cyclist was wearing earbuds and perhaps listening to music while he rode his bike and if distractions like music played into the accident. However, it has been noted that approaching trains sometimes can’t be heard by folks who are approaching train crossings, especially if the train doesn’t blast their loud horns. Instead, the cyclist should’ve been aware of the lowered guard rail barrier arm as his signal that a train was approaching and not have attempted to beat the train or go around the speeding train.

The front wheel of the cyclist’s bicycle made it onto the train track but with the speeding train going as fast as 90 miles per hour, the force of the train quickly knocked the bicycle rider off of the body of the train and sent both the cyclist and his bike backward and crashing to the ground. In the viral video, which can be seen from two vantage points on either side of the train, a motorist stops and gets out of his car to help the injured cyclist after he crashed into the train.

The cyclist hit by the high-speed train was tested for alcohol consumption, reports the Telegraph, but it was determined that the 26-year-old bicycle rider was not drunk. The sober Polish man instead received a fine because he ignored the safety warnings set up for the speeding train, which can reach speeds of up to 180 miles per hour.

The cyclist’s run-in with the Pendolino train caused a 40-minute delay after the accident. As seen in the date of the video when the event happened, the November 5 incident is now growing in popularity because the CCTV video was only recently posted to YouTube on Wednesday, causing the amazing footage to grow in views pretty quickly. The original video, titled “Pendolino vs rowerzysta” — which means “Pendolino vs biker,” the name of the train — can be seen below.

https://youtu.be/1EWfUKqEGiU

The cyclist also ignored a red light that spelled a train was approaching, as well as the lowered barriers that warned others that a train was nearby at the train crossing. According to a spokesperson for the national railway company in Poland, Miroslaw Siemieniec, it’s crucial for everyone — bike riders or others — to pay attention to train crossings and look around and realize a speeding train could be approaching and not just barrel across the train tracks.

“It’s important for all road users, no matter what their means of transport, to take special care at level crossings. This was a lesson in how not to cross the tracks.”

[Image via YouTube/Kamera Samochodowa]

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