crime

7-year-old girl run down, killed at pedestrian crossing near home

48 Comments

Police said Friday they have arrested the driver of a car that hit and killed a 7-year-old girl at a pedestrian crossing in Chiba Prefecture.

TBS reported that the girl, who has been named as Momoka Kamiya, was walking home after playing with friends in Funabashi at around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. According to police, Kamiya was run down at a pedestrian crossing near her home by a 23-year-old male driver from Saitama.

Kamiya was taken to hospital with severe head injuries and was pronounced dead two hours later.

The driver of the car was quoted by police as saying he didn't see the girl.

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48 Comments
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Sad :(

0 ( +1 / -1 )

What are the rules in Japan for stopping at a zebra crossing? As far as I see none! The times I have waited for a car to stop has been countless. When you do step out bravely they swerve around you and if you catch eye contact they think that is their green light to go. Poor little girl, I hope this selfish swine gets put down for a long time. Did not see her my arse.

9 ( +13 / -4 )

What are the rules in Japan for stopping at a zebra crossing?

Contrary to popular belief, the rules are the same as every other country and pedestrians have the right of way. However, I cannot count the amount of times a car has swerved to avoid me on a crossing and just kept going through. I have a daughter the same age that walks to school and not far from Funabashi either. This is a little too close to home for me!

I've said it many times before, gambling is illegal in japan until you get on the roads. Then, you gamble with your life!

12 ( +14 / -2 )

Damn! And I thought I was having a bad day. Lots of lives affected by this. Too sad, way too sad.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@Disillusioned: Actually it states that in Japanese rules that "pedestrians should still be careful for cars movement while crossing the zebrazone." I would say its ridiculous but then again, this is Japan.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Here is a link to the rules for f.e. Aichi perfecture in English.

http://www.pref.aichi.jp/global/en/living/traffic/

point 2.5 / 2.6

3 ( +3 / -0 )

ShermanMay. 10, 2013 - 03:48PM JST

What are the rules in Japan for stopping at a zebra crossing?

Yes, as Disillusioned said, drivers are supposed to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks, but most people don't follow this rule... probably due to the lack of a sense of responsibility by many drivers and lack of safety awareness, topped off by the police not enforcing the rules.

What a tragic accident, but I don't understand why it's news... many accidents like this surely happen everyday, so why is this one in the news?

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Probably on his keitai or watching T.V... both illegal and are the most commonly broken laws, and ignored by police in Japan. So, so sad. R.I.P Kamiya.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

@Tahoochi said: but I don't understand why it's news... many accidents like this surely happen everyday, so why is this one in the news?

Maybe to bring to public attention this problem of D-bag drivers not stopping when they should or to start looking where they are going instead of 'possibly' texting on their phones or watching TV while driving. Duh!!!

When you drive a car..it's not about only looking forward...it's knowing 360 degrees what's around your car. Driving 101 which many people seem to forget.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Papigiulio

Thanks for the link. They seem to be a mixture of rules and advice though. It can't be a "rule" that you have to take care, look both ways before crossing, or wear bright clothing at night. Common sense and good advice, yes, but not "rules", and that might be one problem with the driving here, no-one seems to know what a rule is and what good driving "manners" are. It should be a clear rule that keitai use while driving carries a certain penalty for example, not just that it's a bit of good advice, which is what I think pedestrians still checking for cars when crossing is. You don't go charging out into the road just cos the light's green even if you have right of way, you still look first. Especially in Japan!

And this part drives me mad!

Many traffic accidents involve elderly drivers. If you notice an elderly driver, try to reduce your speed and drive with consideration for the other vehicle.

I hate bringing this kind of "consideration" into driving. If you're not competent to drive on the road get the f*** off it! It doesn't matter what the reason is for your incompetence is. I'm sure a lot of accidents would happen with 10 year-olds if they were allowed to drive, which is precisely why we don't let them.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Now, it COULD be that the girl jumped out suddenly, but this sounds 100% like the driver's fault. How do you not see a 7-year-old child unless you are not paying attention? And as other posters have said, while the rules state a pedestrian has the right of way on such crossings and on the sidewalks, how many times for those who live here have you not seen cars speed through such places, or turn on the hazard lights and park on 'sidewalks' so you have to walk in traffic and risk your life?

Poor little girl. RIP.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Yes, as Disillusioned said, drivers are supposed to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks, but most people don't follow this rule...

What if the pedestrian is crossing against the light at a controlled zebra crossing?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

We don't know where exactly. We don't know of the girl watched before crossing, etc. Pedestrian almost never watch when crossing if the car is stopping or not. Many crossings are next to a wall angle. Cannot see anything. A had my share of almost hitting someone. Kids also tend to run when crossing the street and of course, without watching. RIP little girl.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

and ... again. This is happening far too often.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Papigiulio, thanks for the link. But section 2 described rules (guidelines?) for pedestrians. Lower down, section 4 describes the rules for autos; and 4.8 states: Pedestrians crossing the street at a crosswalk have right-of-way. Always be sure to check for pedestrians crossing the street. If there are any, be sure to stop and wait for them.

So cars should stop. I agree that many (most?) do not. Cops should enforce this law.

-10 ( +8 / -18 )

i'm not sure what kind of parents allow 7yr olds to go gallivanting with friends without adult supervision..

-6 ( +3 / -9 )

On my way home every night I drive past a school just as clubs are coming out. There are usually at least a few school children waiting to cross at the zebra crossing... but I am almost the only driver who actually stops for them. I've even had the ridiculous situation where I was stopped and waiting for them to cross... while the drivers on the other side of the road merrily zipped past me. My lights were on clearly illuminating the zebra crossing.

Next time I see one of my local cops outside the convenience store asking everyone if everything is okay I'll mention to him that they really should put a cop near that zebra crossing at random intervals and have a nice LONG chat down at the station with those drivers who don't stop. Not only is it bad manners, but it is also incredibly unsafe to drive through a zebra crossing when pedestrians are standing nearby.

crampMay. 10, 2013 - 07:13PM JST i'm not sure what kind of parents allow 7yr olds to go gallivanting with friends without adult supervision..

I went gallivanting with friends when I was 7 years old. It is good for children to have freedom to exercise initiative. You must be a real "helicopter parent" I pity your kids. ... and even if you were there you couldn't have stopped a car with your bare hands.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

I have been told numerous times both by individual police and in the course of the lectures given when you get your license renewed, that the rule is that a vehicle must not enter the crossing when there are any pedestrians in it, regardless of where they are relative to the vehicle. I've been told several times that whether the pedestrian is crossing against the light is irrelevant, too.

This includes, for example, a solitary pedestrian--jaywalker or law-abiding citizen--who has already walked past your car (saw a guy get a ticket in Omotesando maybe 20 years go for going through the crossing after a pedestrian had already crossed past the front of his car and was a good 5 meters away, just a step from the sidewalk). Also includes pedestrians who have just entered the crossing five lanes away from you on the other side of the street when your vehicle is right up against the crossing in the lane farthest from them. The vehicle is theoretically supposed to wait until there are no pedestrians in the crossing at all before proceeding through it.

Realistically, that's impractical at some intersections (Ginza 4-chome, for example, or the scramble crossing in Shibuya, or many others): it would create even more gridlock than already happens. Thus a lot of cops don't enforce it if nobody is endangered...but note the Omotesando example above.

I've also been told several times that the same rule applies to bicycles, BTW: they're meant to stop and not be ridden through crossings when there are pedestrians anywhere in the crossing. I certainly haven't seen that being obeyed or enforced.

However, impractical or not, gridlock or not, oblivious pedestrians or not, there's no excuse acceptable for hitting a pedestrian in a crosswalk and as a driver you'd best be prepared for what might happen. If you're not ready to endure blaring horns behind you, interminable waits at crossings while dawdlers/gamers/texters saunter/jaywalk/whatever, or to risk getting a hefty ticket for going through the crossing while someone is anywhere in it, or to deal with the basic "the pedestrian is always right" approach...then maybe you shouldn't drive here.

I'm pretty sure that no driver's excuse, regardless of how logical, would be very persuasive to the parents of a dead child.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I don't think one car has every stopped for me in 25 years of crossing zebra crossings in Japan. I wasn't sure there were any rules, so thank you everyone for the guidance.

It is particularly dangerous after returning from the UK when cars do stop (usually) and you don't make the mental transition immediately from they will stop to they will not stop.

I stepped out once here in Aichi and the person driving just carried on, I froze, but thankfully, they swerved round me rather than burying me under the black and white tarmac.

Aichi is a bad example though and is up there each year for the number of road deaths and accidents.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

'RIP' little girl, you are in heaven, but the driver will go to hell sooner or later!

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Frungy@7:21 said - "There are usually at least a few school children waiting to cross at the zebra crossing... but I am almost the only driver who actually stops for them. I've even had the ridiculous situation where I was stopped and waiting for them to cross... while the drivers on the other side of the road merrily zipped past me. My lights were on clearly illuminating the zebra crossing.,

I have seen this situation many times, and as a parent it scares the bejeezus out of me. A considerate driver stops at the zebra with a friendly wave indicating that it`s safe for the child to cross, child thinks he should trust/obey the adult and starts across, meanwhile traffic on the other side of the street keeps coming.

Police REALLY should enforce the rules and stop signs would be nice, especially at zebra crossings near schools.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

still full daylight at 5:30 pm and this failure of a human being says he didn't see her. I wonder if he had his nose in his keitai or a manga

4 ( +4 / -0 )

@Frungy and @yokohamarides That infuriates me, too. I always stop for pedestrians, whether on my motorcycle or in my car, and the people who go right around me and through the crossing--often passing illegally even if it weren't a crossing--enrage me. I'd love to see more enforcement. In fact, although I can see the difficulties in actually implementing such a plan, I'd rather see the civilian traffic wardens handing out tickets for unsafe driving at crossings, especially around schools, than for parking violations. It'd be tax money better spent, IMO.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

I see only ONE solution: proper lightening and high speed bump for every zebra! In front of the school in my home village in Europe, they are 25 cm high. Believe me, if you do not reduce speed the bill at the garage will be high!

This has been implemented in many countries since decades and it works.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

What if the pedestrian is crossing against the light at a controlled zebra crossing?

Then the pedestrian is in the wrong, but that doesn't give the driver carte blanche to drive on through. The key is, "Has the pedestrian already entered the crosswalk?" If someone is just standing on the corner, cars do not need to stop. If someone has enter the crosswalk, however, cars DO need to stop regardless of whether they "have the light" or not.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Open MindedMay. 10, 2013 - 09:55PM JST I see only ONE solution: proper lightening and high speed bump for every zebra! In front of the school in my home village in Europe, they are 25 cm high. Believe me, if you do not reduce speed the bill at the garage will be high! This has been implemented in many countries since decades and it works.

All I can see happening with this suggestion is a lot of damaged cars and extra accidents as people fail to notice the speed bumps, plus grannies and grandpas suing the city hall for injuries to their brittle old bones.

I would suggest the following:

Plain clothes cops stand by the crossings at random intervals, with a police car down the road to detain and fine anyone who crosses while kids are trying to cross. Honestly, its not like the cops in my area have anything better to do.

Fake speed cameras installed near pedestrian crossings... its amazing how drivers slow down for those in Japan!

Red flashing lights like at train crossings, and those automatically lowering barriers that activate when a pedestrian presses the button.

Bazookas handed out for free to school kids, with permission to use them to "clear traffic" if if won't stop for them.

Hehehehehe... now I can't get the image of an elementary schooler with a huge grin and a bazooka out of my head....

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Fadamor:

The key is, "Has the pedestrian already entered the crosswalk?" If someone is just standing on the corner, cars do not need to stop.

This is exactly the wrong behavior. Drivers MUST give the way to pedestrians, stop and with eye contact or hand sign offer the pedestrian to cross the street.

If you go once in Germany, never stop close to a zebra for a chat because every car are going to stop. And I am talking about time in the last millennium! Pedestrian's respect in urban area has been strongly enforced and speed freedom on highway kept (no speed limit at all!)

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Saitama strikes again! rip toka, sad that some dirtbag idiot robbed you of your life so soon.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Frungy: speed bumps are not out of the blue suggestion. They are proven efficient means. And not only to protect children, but adult pedestrians too.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

By the time people take their driving tests, bad habits are well ingrained from a decade + of getting away with murder on mamcharis. A king's ransom and hours of lectures from ex-cops do zilch to change the mindset.

We've all seen it, whether on foot, pedalling or driving, so what should we expect? As in cycling, it's the 'uchi' vs 'soto'. Other people don't matter, unless your behaviour is challenged. Is that why it's mandatory to call the cops here for even the slightest accident, because people would otherwise (as on their mamachari), give a perfunctory sumimasen, dust themselves off and foxtrot oscar?

As a keen cyclist, pedestrian, and driver like most of you, I'd love to see a lot of the traffic calming, pedestrian-friendly measures other OECD nations enjoy and obey. But we should start with an overhaul of the laws on cycling, and teach proper roadcraft, road safety and respect to children.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Not having been back to France for a couple of years (I am there now) I had forgotten how they drive over here. Just today I remarked to my son how "disciplined" the French drivers are ! Japan should learn from them ! When I wish to cross the road over here, they immediately stop and even give me a smile ! My son does the same over here at pedestrian crossings and I do the same when I drive in Japan. But I have to agree with Balefire : "people who go right around me and through the crossing--often passing illegally even if it weren't a crossing--enrage me". I also agree with those as who hate the "texters" and those on their cellphones, oblivious of what's going on around them. I wouldn't mind waiting but the drivers behind me can't always see what's going on and wonder why it takes me such a long time to move on..

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Pedestrian crossings in Japan are death traps. One thing that always scares the hell out of me are cars (usually taxis) parked right up to and sometimes even across the crossing. If there is a child standing there waiting to cross you cant even see them. In the UK and the US you are not allowed to park within a certain distance of a crossing. Actually, what am I saying? It is probably the case in Japan too, but yet again no one enforces the rules.

In this case - RIP to the poor little girl. I dont know if she ran out and there was nothing he could do, or if he was speeding/texting/not paying attention, but the fact that he said he didnt even see her makes me wonder.

This is a bit close to home for me too, for different reasons. I nearly knocked down a kid yesterday. This is in the US and he couldnt have been more than 6! He was totally on his own. I was waiting at a crossing for the light to turn green, and there was a car to my left with one of those HUGE American car bonnets I couldnt see over. My light to go went green and just as I started to move forwards a kid suddenly appeared from behind the bonnet of the car next to me right in front of my car on his bike. I slammed on the brakes and thank God reacted fast enough to miss him. He was crossing the road on a red light (for him) on a little bike aged 6 with no adults around at all. In Japan I get that is normal, but in the US - no. And this was a road with 3 lanes in each direction he was crossing on his own! Scared the hell out of me! I checked the crossing as I pulled up to it but at that time there was no one there, and the lights take a while to change so he obviously came along while I was waiting. Anyway, scared the crap out of me but a good thing - I will be even more careful in the future.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

This is always a deadly time bomb waiting to happen because drivers in Japan don't stop at pedestrian cross walks even though they are required to do so by law. The pedestrian in this case was a young girl tricked into a sense of security because there was a pedestrian crossing, and she may have raised her hand going across, which kids assume tell drivers they are going to cross the road. Either way, the driver is 100% at fault and should be imprisoned for it. (Of course the U.S. is even more dangerous because every other driver is drunk or stoned... so I don't mean to criticize Japan in general).

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

This is a sad story in deed. Any time a child is killed in a preventable accident it is sad. Of course here in the states one can read almost on a daily basis of a child under the age of ten finding a loaded hand gun and killing themselves or another child.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Open MindedMay. 10, 2013 - 10:43PM JST Frungy: speed bumps are not out of the blue suggestion. They are proven efficient means. And not only to protect children, but adult pedestrians too.

Except that they don't work. Speed bumps have been shown not to work in numerous studies, e.g. Pau & Angius, 2001. The reasons are simple:

If you drive then you should know that going over speed bumps is most jarring at very high AND very slow speeds. The best way to take them is to roll over them at moderate speed. As a result most motorists learn not to reach a complete stop near speed bumps. They may slow, but DO NOT STOP as a result of this phenomenon.

The driver's focus is shifted from looking around for pedestrians to the brightly coloured and obvious speed bumps. They're distracting, plain and simple.

Turning your head while going over a speed bump at low speeds is a recipe for whip-lash as your neck muscles are tensed and forward control is lessened. As a result motorists do not look left or right while going over speed bumps. The best way to take them is to look straight forward. Again, they discourage drivers from observing their environment , which leads to more accidents.

And of course the speed bump raises the front of the car, making short children harder to see. This likewise results in more child deaths.

Speed bumps don't work. Plain and simple, plus they cost lives indirectly by:

A. Slowing down emergency service vehicles. Ambulances can't afford any jarring of their patients, and so need to detour around speed bumps. They face a simple choice between risking jarring a critical patient and the extra time of a detour. These delays kill. In London alone the Ambulance services estimated that speed bumps caused 500 extra deaths a year.

B. They damage vehicles. This damage is cumulative and results in car accidents in other locations because of burst tires, damaged axles, worn shock absorbers, etc.

C. They damage drivers. Spinal damage from the repeated shocks is slow and cumulative, and can result in paralysis and deaths.

They're also a stupid idea in Japan because:

The speed limit in Japan is already low, normally about 40km/hr near schools. Drivers might slow slightly to 30km/hr, but that's not a great improvement, and as mentioned above speed bumps discourage stopping entirely.

Kei cars have very low clearance, so high speed bumps would just result in the police being called out a hundred times a day to lever cars off them.

In Japan there are more senior citizens who drive, and who would be badly injured or even killed going over these speed bumps repeatedly, especially female senior citizens when age-induced changes in bone density are a critical factor.

These are just a few of dozens of reasons why speed bumps are NOT a good idea. You endlessly repeating that they are is not going to change the facts.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

What a tragic accident, but I don't understand why it's news... many accidents like this surely happen everyday, so why is this one in the news?

Tahoochi

Because it's rare. The number of Pedestrians of 15 years and under killed are in single digits per year.

Page 12 of PDF.

http://www.e-stat.go.jp/SG1/estat/List.do?lid=000001110232

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Praying for all involved that justice is served the community as a whole and that her family heal.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

This is exactly the wrong behavior. Drivers MUST give the way to pedestrians, stop and with eye contact or hand sign offer the pedestrian to cross the street.

Ehh... so you stop every time you see a pedestrian on the sidewalk on the off-chance they might decide they want to start crossing the street? I can see you stopping and waving someone to cross while they look at you like you're insane and keep walking down the sidewalk. Couple that with the guy who rear-ended you because you suddenly stopped for no reason and I predict your day will go from bad to worse.

@Frungy,

These are just a few of dozens of reasons why speed bumps are NOT a good idea. You endlessly repeating that they are is not going to change the facts.

Wrong, those are a few of dozens of results that happen when idiots ignore the speed bump and try to drive over them at highway speeds. If you're doing that, you're a moron. "Whiplash going over a speed bump?!" I'll bet you have a bridge to sell me in the desert, too, right? I find it interesting that the study you cite (Pau & Angius 2001) actually states that the speed bumps DO modify driving speed, yet you claim the opposite:

No statistically significant differences were found from the comparison of speed values observed in free, bump or crosswalk sections of the same streets, while speed profiles calculated at four sites, where a high percentage of braking vehicles was observed, showed a common trend from which it clearly emerges that the effect of the device on driver's behaviour is restricted to a short spatial range (about 20-30 m before and after the bump).

Obviously a speed bump placed every 50 meters would curtail speeds on an entire street.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

This is exactly the wrong behavior. Drivers MUST give the way to pedestrians, stop and with eye contact or hand sign offer the pedestrian to cross the street.

Absolutely!!!!

I don't know what it is about Japan in particular...? The drivers here have this notion, mentality that they OWN the road, and no matter what, if you step into road you are fair game to get hit...

Where does this mentality come from...?

PEDESTRIANS ALWAYS, ALWAYS ALWAYS... HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY....!!!!

Of course, this goes without saying that a person should NOT just walk out into a busy highway with no crosswalk, but even in that case, DRIVERS MUST AVOID Hitting the person....!!!

And this is just another perfect example of just one of the many many many problems that is UNDER-ENFORCED, Mean-while they're going to further spread thin the current Police Resources so they can go after Bicyclist.... Unbelievable...!

I tell you... These JCops NEED to start enforcing the current Motor Vehicle Laws, and Pull their Heads out of their you know what... I see far too many Kobans with the JCops asleep at the switch... But Ironically ready to go after Obasan's on bicycles, mean while they turn a blind eye while a motorcyclist goes flying by at 100KPH on a residential street...

I almost got ran down, by a yazuza-wannabe, crossing on a GREEN Pedestrian Walk Signal, In A Pedestrian Cross Walk... DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF A KOBAN...!!!! Oh, but again, not a single JCop anywhere to be found....

RIP Little one... !!!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

All of there anecdotal evidence by various posters and yet the number of fatalities for pedestrians amount to around 400 per year. Japanese people must be the luckiest people on earth 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

@nigelboy That's true, and that's why such stories make the news. Of course, if you or one of your loved ones is one of the 400, it doesn't look so lucky anymore. In fact, the traffic here is pretty slow overall and although there are plenty of narrow, poor-visibility streets with no sidewalks, there are fewer pedestrian fatalities than one would expect. I suspect there are a lot of injuries, many unreported, with adult victims, however.

I've been driving cars and motorcycles, and riding bicycles, and walking here for decades, and although I've witnessed some accidents they have mostly been between vehicles. Those involving pedestrians that I've seen or know of from friends/relatives have been relatively minor, luckily.

I've had dozens, probably well over a hundred, close calls over the years mostly related to folks darting into the road from behind objects/vehicles, on foot or on bicycles mostly, and some involving incompetent motorists, but I am very careful and drive/ride always with an eye to what might happen rather than what seems likely.

Nevertheless, if I had a small child walking back and forth to school, I'd be anxious about it.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

What if the pedestrian is crossing against the light at a controlled zebra crossing?

doesn't matter...the driver HAS to stop....'didn't see her' is not an excuse. My money is on texting... I still see too much of it on the roads

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The UK has a much more practical rule that pedestrians also have a responsibility to check that the road is clear before stepping out on to a crossing in busy traffic, thus freeing drivers from having to brake due to a pedestrian suddenly turning and walking out on to the street. You cannot expect a heavy car to stop on a dime. Their crossings are much more visible too.

But drivers must stop when a pedestrian is looking to cross, and cars are not allowed to park on and close to crossings.

I've numerous examples on my drive recorder of idiotic pedestrian and cyclist behaviour, crossing oblivious to any traffic: suddenly turning and walking into the road; blocking traffic by walking so slow, usually whilst gazing at some sort of portable device, or chatting with friends; crossing outside of the crossing zone; and cyclists who behave inconsistently as both vehicles and pedestrians to save a second or two...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Ehh... so you stop every time you see a pedestrian on the sidewalk on the off-chance they might decide they want to start crossing the street? I can see you stopping and waving someone to cross while they look at you like you're insane and keep walking down the sidewalk. Couple that with the guy who rear-ended you because you suddenly stopped for no reason and I predict your day will go from bad to worse.

As a Driver, You're Number one concern should be NOT Hitting any PEDESTRIANS... Aside from following posted speed limits and Driving Defensively... And If someone Rear-Ends you, because you stopped suddenly to avoid hitting someone (or even a near miss) they are following TOO CLOSE... They will be 100-Percent at fault (Even in Japan's ridiculous accident fault system)

I don't know what it is about japan, and Japanese Drivers... They've got this mentality that THEY OWN the Road, They have this perception, Belief that if you are a Pedestrian (Including Bicycle Riders in the Definition of PEDESTRIAN) and if you are in the Road, then you are fair game... It's ridiculous... You hit someone in ANY industrialized (I.E.. Civilized) Country in the World, because you failed to have give the right of way or Failed to show an Abundance of Caution while YOU are operating a Motor Vehicle, and Your Insurance will go through the roof... And if you seriously injure someone, you had better have an Umbrella Policy, because they will go after your home, and all your assets... You won't have ten-yen to rub together... That's if it's an Accident, if you Intentionally attempt to Hit someone while they are either on the side of the road, a cross-walk, a parking lot, a 7-11, a bowling alley... ect... (Perhaps because you just wanted to prove a point, make a statement... This Notion of I own the road...) Then YOU WILL GO TO JAIL... This keeps Drivers Very Mindful of Pedestrians In Civilized Countries (At least LEGAL Drivers)... Here is analogous is Socialism...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

FadamorMay. 11, 2013 - 04:03AM JST @Frungy,

These are just a few of dozens of reasons why speed bumps are NOT a good idea. You endlessly repeating that they are is not going to change the facts. Wrong, those are a few of dozens of results that happen when idiots ignore the speed bump and try to drive over them at highway speeds. If you're doing that, you're a moron. "Whiplash going over a speed bump?!" I'll bet you have a bridge to sell me in the desert, too, right? I find it interesting that the study you cite (Pau & Angius 2001) actually states that the speed bumps DO modify driving speed, yet you claim the opposite:

Firstly, I stated EXPLICITLY that speed bumps DO modify driving speed, people slow down a little... but they don't stop, because driving over a speed bump at very low speeds is very jolting, and this causes whiplash.

From my last post (because evidently there are some people here with reading problems): "If you drive then you should know that going over speed bumps is most jarring at very high AND very slow speeds. The best way to take them is to roll over them at moderate speed. As a result most motorists learn not to reach a complete stop near speed bumps. They may slow, but DO NOT STOP as a result of this phenomenon."

Next time actually read before you criticise or you'll end up looking like more of a moron.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

"BluescriptMAY. 10, 2013 - 07:08PM JST Papigiulio, thanks for the link. But section 2 described rules (guidelines?) for pedestrians. Lower down, section 4 describes the rules for autos; and 4.8 states: Pedestrians crossing the street at a crosswalk have right-of-way. Always be sure to check for pedestrians crossing the street. If there are any, be sure to stop and wait for them.

So cars should stop. I agree that many (most?) do not. Cops should enforce this law."

I don't understand why this would get any thumbs down. It is not only the law, it is common sense.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Saitama strikes again. I'm beginning to wonder about Saitama. As for the driver not seeing the girl, was he texting?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

There used to be boxes full of yellow flags. Children waving these increased their profile.

Stopping at pedestrian crossings and encouraging people to cross might just be sending them into the path of idiot drivers coming towards you on the other side. The paradox is that by enforcing western values we might just run the danger of hurting or killing a pedestrian. When in Rome...?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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