It's definitely a pattern to follow – say experts after a driver plowed into other cars on German highways for dozens of minutes. The German service reported that they have no way to stop such a truck. What will be the reaction in Poland? – The Poles probably shot at him and aimed at the tires, – says ex-policeman Andrzej Mrocek.
On Saturday, a 30-year-old driver from Poland rammed his truck into cars on German highways for several tens of minutes. Witnesses reported that the truck was traveling at excessive speed. The driver ignored all the orders of the police to stop, who in this situation asked other drivers to get off the highway.
German police admitted they were unable to stop the multi-tonne truck and responded mainly by blocking sections of the road in front of it to clear it of other vehicles. The truck stopped only when it hit the traffic jams. In total, it led to a series of collisions involving around 50 vehicles on the A1 and A46 motorways in North Rhine-Westphalia, injuring at least 19 people.
A truck hits cars on German highways Sascha Thelen/dpa/PAP
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The truck hit the highway at high speed
What options do the services have to stop such a multi-ton truck that creates danger on the road? In an interview with tvn24.pl, Wojciech Pasieczny, a road safety expert and former deputy chief of the Warsaw traffic police, said that in Poland “the only solution to such a situation is a spike strip” that punctures the tires of such vehicles. a vehicle. – But it is not so simple: there should be information in advance, a line of spikes should be laid, the place should be strengthened so that no one else hits it, – he says.
According to him, it is not possible to use measures, such as shooting at the tires of this or that vehicle, because a car that is moving without control, for example, can damage other cars. – We are talking about places where there are other people. Wojciech Pasechny emphasizes that by detaining one person, you cannot endanger others.
According to the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On Direct Coercive Measures and Firearms”, road spike belts and “other means of stopping and immobilizing vehicles” can be used in several cases: maintaining order or security, resisting an attack on the inviolability of the state border, arresting or arrest a person who hinders the escape or pursuit of this person”. or it is impossible due to the situation of the event.
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Terrorism? “In this case, completely different tools are used.”
Andrzej Mrocek, a former police officer and deputy director of the Collegium Civitas Terrorism Research Center, also admits in an interview with the tvn24.pl portal that in the case of such a multi-ton vehicle, the Polish police will also have problems with enforcing it. to stop However, he notes that if the incident is classified as an act of terrorism, the services have more options.
– In this case, completely different tools are used. The commander in charge of the operation receives constant information about what kind of transport it is, where it should be from and where it was going, what it can carry, and on this basis determines the specialty – explains. – However, the coercive measures taken should still be appropriate, therefore, first we used spiked belts, and only when these measures did not work, we used radical measures, such as opening fire, – he explains.
Andrzej Mrocek also admitted that if the commander himself had decided to classify this incident, he would have refused to recognize terrorism. – First, I think about a drunk driver in a state of drug intoxication or in a serious mental state, and only about a possible terrorist, – he says. He admits that the threat a driver poses is the same regardless of the reason they hit other cars, but those reasons are very important to police. “Police authorities are tasked with stopping the criminal and causing him as little harm as possible,” he emphasizes.
“Maybe the Poles will shoot at him”
In response to the question of how the services would react to such an event in Poland, Andrzej Mrocek believes that a stronger response can be expected than in Germany on Sunday. – The Poles, probably, were shooting at him, pointing at the tires. He emphasizes that it is not the use of firearms, but the use of firearms.
Is this enough to stop a multi-ton truck? – We don't know, but we can try and see other steps later, for example, possibly targeting the driver. This is definitely a precedent that needs to be reviewed now, he emphasizes.
Truck accident on the highway in GermanyAlex Talash/dpa/PAP
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Main photo source: Sascha Thelen/dpa/PAP
