Rescue services exercises on Autostrada Wielkopolska

On Tuesday, 7th March rescue exercises were performed on the Autostrada Wielkopolska motorway, as a permanent part of cooperation with the services aiming at increasing the level of safety on the motorway and providing efficient and quick assistance in the event of an accident.

This time rescue exercises involved a simulated collision of passenger cars with a truck at the Nagradowice Toll Plaza. The event area was separated for the purpose of exercises in such a way as not to hinder the movement of other vehicles.

We regularly organize such exercises together with the services and Autostrada Eksploatacja, responsible for the maintenance of our motorway. Thanks to such simulated actions, both motorway services, patrols as well as fire brigades, police and ambulance can practice response time, procedures and actions of individual rescue units. This is to enable efficient and effective reaction to help persons injured in the event of a real threat or an accident – says Michał Pabich, road safety expert at Autostrada Wielkopolska S.A.

The exercise began at 8:00 p.m. with an arranged collision between passenger cars and a truck carrying hazardous substances. A complete information and action procedure was launched: starting from notifying the Operation and Maintenance Center by one of the witnesses of the event, through immediately transferring information to competent services, securing the scene, arrival of fire brigades from the stationing places, to providing assistance, neutralizing the threat and preparing traffic lanes for other users.
15 units of the State Fire Service took part in Tuesday exercises, a total of over 50 firefighters, including, among other, the Specialized Chemical and Ecological Rescue Group and Specialized Technical Rescue Group from the Poznań State Fire Service Headquarters.

Our statistics clearly show that motorways are safe despite the high volume of cars. This is due, among other factors, to the motorway operation, but also to the specific, collision-free layout of carriageways. Such specific features of the motorway require a different approach from the rescue services. Before entering the motorway, fire truck drivers must carefully analyze which entrance to choose best. A mistake can mean the loss of precious minutes as it may be impossible to turn back. – explains brig. Sławomir Brandt of the Provincial Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Poznań.

Representatives of Autostrada Wielkopolska managing the A2 concession section, and Autostrada Eksploatacja meet monthly with representatives of the uniformed services operating on the A2 motorway, including the State Fire Service, the Police, the Road Transport Inspection, the National Revenue Administration and the Border Guard. They discuss and analyze untypical cases of the last 30 days in order to further improve cooperation in similar interventions, and also plan activities and cooperation for the next period.

Rescue drills are also organized from time to time to enable the employees of the motorway and the services to practice certain behaviors, test response speed and coordinate activities in a safe, simulated situation. Owing to such drills, in case of actual incident on the motorway, everyone knows what to do to help the injured persons efficiently and quickly.

During actual events on the motorway or other roads people act under time pressure and stress. Reactions have to be fast and actions need to be properly coordinated. Drills help to identify individual situations which are then discussed to draw appropriate conclusions. As a consequence, during the actual intervention everyone knows their tasks and proceeds without hesitation – adds Michał Pabich.

The rules of proper conduct in the event of an accident, fire, disaster or other threat have been collected and described in the so-called Rescue Action Plan updated on an ongoing basis. The plan allows for maximum improvement of the organization and conduct of rescue operations on the motorway. It also defines the coordination of activities of all involved services and their competences during the handling of incidents on the motorway. Today, the Rescue Action Plan developed for the A2 concession section is also used by other road managers in Poland as a model.

Please be reminded that dangerous events, including accidents or collisions on Autostrada Wielkopolska, can be reported to a 24/7 SOS number: 61 83 83 112, apart from the emergency number 112.