All of Poland has already written about the terrible, fatal accident involving a combine harvester in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, which occurred last Saturday. It probably could have been avoided – like many other tragic road accidents. The problem is that you can't buy common sense and imagination.
Many road users in our country treat road rules selectively – they know that they exist, but not all of them and they are not always followed by them. The police repeat over and over again to drive according to the regulations, more and more drastic information and warning actions appear in public space – also social ones, the media publicizes tragic accidents, but very often one has the impression that these actions and work are Sisyphean.
The police reported that the shearer operator was sober and had all the required licenses
Regarding Saturday's fatal accident (West Pomeranian Voivodeship) involving a John Deere combine harvester, we contacted the press spokesman of the Police Headquarters in Police, acting asp. Katarzyna Leśnicka:
– No charges have been brought against anyone yet and no such charges will be brought at the moment, because the circumstances of the accident are still being investigated and all are being carried out under the supervision of the prosecutor's office. The man driving the combine harvester had all the licenses and was sober, she said.
Further actions are being carried out by the District Prosecutor's Office in Szczecin-Zachód, and the combine operator can continue to work for now.
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Driving at high speed on a narrow municipal road is asking for trouble
Saturday's accident occurred on a municipal road between the towns of Barnisław and Smolęcin in the Kołbaskowo commune, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, and as far as we know, it was not a built-up area.
However, this does not in any way affect the fact that driving at a speed much higher – and this can be assumed after looking at the photos of the car wreck that literally "squeezed" under the combine's inclined conveyor – than the prescribed speed of 90 km/h on a narrow municipal road and in the peak season field work is asking for trouble.
According to the regulations, a municipal road should have a minimum lane width of 3.5 m, but at the same time, requirements regarding the presence of dirt shoulders with a width of at least 0.75 m each and passing areas must be met. Combining this with the "non-standard" transport width of the John Deere T660 combine harvester running properly (with the header on the rear trolley), which according to its technical data and depending on the year and tire size is from 377 to 400 cm, it simply turns out that in the case of there are very few encounters with such a machine, passing it or overtaking it and it must be done with extreme caution – and rather at a speed much lower than the legal speed limit.
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Combine harvester licenses. Are they really necessary?
The combine operator had all the necessary licenses, and the juvenile driver also had a driving license
Both participants in Saturday's accident had the required licenses – so what went wrong? The combine harvester, probably also due to experience, common sense and low speed, reacted to the situation until the end and tried to avoid a head-on collision by swerving to the side. A speeding car with a young, inexperienced driver on board, in a clash with a combine weighing over 15 tons, and as life showed once again, it had no chance – there was no imagination and common sense, as well as no space and time for a safe maneuver.
Life is the highest value, but perhaps the senseless death of a very young man will once again be a reason to start a discussion and seriously consider raising the minimum age required for driving license courses.
However, a very sad conclusion remains – no one will bring the boy back to life, and the shearer operator, as a victim of the accident, will be left with traumatic experiences forever.
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The John Deere T660 combine is a non-standard category V machine
It has been repeatedly reported and written on our pages that a combine harvester traveling on a public road is a non-standard vehicle, the operation of which requires additional qualifications. In the case of the John Deere T660 combine harvester involved in Saturday's accident in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship (exceeding the transport height of 3.5 meters), however, the regulations for non-standard category five machines come into play.
Templates of category IV permits for the passage of non-standard vehicles were introduced into legal circulation on March 13, 2021. Authorities authorized to issue permits (in accordance with the provisions of Article 64b(3), Article 64c(3) points 1 and 2, Art. 64c(4), Article 64d(4) of the Road Traffic Law) issue, from March 13, 2021, category IV permits for the passage of non-standard vehicles, depending on the needs of entities applying for the permit, for the period:
- category I permits – 12 months,
- category II-IV permits – 1 month, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months,
- Category V permit – is issued for a single or multiple journey of a non-standard vehicle on public roads within a specified time, on the route specified in the permit.
A permit for a single journey of a non-standard vehicle is valid for 14 days, for multiple passage of a non-standard vehicle – 30 days, and the fee starts from PLN 500.
The body authorized to issue category V permits is the General Director of National Roads and Motorways and the mayor of a city with poviat rights.
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