Motorcyclist dies in hit-and-run incident in Saitama
SAITAMA —
A 21-year-old man died after being knocked off his motorcycle early Tuesday morning in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, police said.
Local residents reported hearing the sound of a violent crash outside their homes at around 12:30 a.m., NTV reported When they reached the scene, eyewitnesses said they saw the man, who has been named as Hiroki Saito, lying in the street at a crosswalk near his motorcycle and another car.
By the time police arrived on the scene, the other vehicle had left the scene. Saito was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
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0
Robert Dykes
@valued_customer just FYI "lane splitting" is LEGAL in Japan. I am not saying ALL motorcyclists lane split legally (or what you saw even falls into lane splitting) but BIG motorists should be informed about the laws!
THIS is why lane splitting is legal in most of the world: http://www.ridelust.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/motorcycle-rear-ended-1.jpg
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Bluebris
The car drivers here are the worst i've ever seen. They have no concept of other vehicles, almost never use their mirrors, and just have a totally careless attitude towards everyone else on the roads.
I feel for this motorcyclist and his family and friends. Let's hope they catch the driver of the car. Regardless of whether it was his/her fault or not, they were aware of the accident and chose to flee the scene, making them look completely guilty.
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Robert Dykes
WHY would anyone give me a thumbs down. So typical of this website. I posted nothing at all but facts that anyone else can find on the internet.
@Bluebris I do agree with you 100%. As an avid motorcyclist (been to all 47 on two wheels). I have been in hundreds of almost accidents. 98% were just becuase the other driver was clueless/idiots. pulling out with out looking. OR looking and seeing me and just not caring and pulling out anyway. Merging without looking. running red lights. etc. etc. etc.
BUT I still think overall Japanese roads are safer than US roads. Japanese drivers are not aggressive. I can not emphasize enough how much of a difference that makes. If you are an attentive driver and not driving too fast you can avoid all the idiots on the road (in Japan). It is aggressive driving that you can not avoid or account for no matter how good a rider/driver you are or how attentive you are.
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kaminarioyaji
Whilst the facts of who did what to whom are not clear here, so a bit early to judge (though the running is clearly wrong), this video is quite an indicator of all too many a Japanese driver's attitude to both bikers and driving safety in general.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC2fho6c6rg
I was quite shocked at how chillingly blase this driver is...
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CrazyJoe
It isn't the car that kills, it's the driver.
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TSRnow
It may not have anything to do with this accident, but I looked up lane splitting. With the exception of English wiki, nothing else says it's legal in Japan. It's all a grey zone. It doesn't clearly say it's illegal, but there are related laws in which you can get caught on, so bikers be careful.
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FightingViking
This "expression" is getting a little worn out...
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Bluebris
@Robert Dykes I've driven all over Europe, driving on the left and right. Never driven in the US so can't compare. I'm sure you know better than I do about American drivers, but the obliviousness of drivers here in Japan never ceases to amaze me. Also, I don't think anyone here understands a road sign that says "とまれ....” and every day I see cars ignoring red lights and never getting stopped by the Police Academy recruits.....
0
NetNinja
If you've never ridden a motorcycle then there's little room for you to speak.
We, motorcyclists, know that there are boneheads out there. You see them riding in sandals without proper safety gear such as a jacket or full-face helmet on a bike 400CC +.
Now there are decent bikers out there and they are harassed EVERY DAY!!. There's a reason why they "lane-split".
You the driver just think they are in a hurry and they're trying to get ahead in life so you try to close the gap instead of giving them way.....sitting in your pretty car, protected from the elements. It never crosses your mind why they are "lane-splitting"..
Here's the reason. It is physically safer for a motorcycle to be at the front of the cue than to stop mid lane and risk being rear-ended by a CAR.
There is much the biker has to contend with on any ride and then are things he can control and can't control. Most bikers know that being rear ended is much more dangerous than a side swipe crash which knocks you over. You have control over your momentum. Now if you still don't believe me. Have a look at this:
This is what bikers have to deal with. It went viral 2 months ago. http://youtu.be/vJTXLuu7_0Y
Angry woman vs Bike.
0
Amidalism
In the past month I've almost been hit by about 10 different vehicles while riding my bicycle (and following all the rules). Asides from not even considering the fact that there may be cyclists or pedestrians around, so many of them fail to slow down even when they do see pedestrians/cyclists, don't look both ways before turning out on a road, don't should check when changing lanes, and pull up right to the road at T-intersections even though the line to stop at is 3m back. I'm super cautious of everything. Can't say the majority of people I've seen riding motorcycles do the same. With both of them thinking that they own the road entirely accidents like this are an inevitability. I'm sure the main mentality of the people who are running from the scene is that "it wasn't my fault in the first place"...either that or they were drunk.
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Herve Nmn L'Eisa
Four wheels vs two wheels: two wheels will usually lose.
I used to ride everyday, rode through the lower 48 and most provinces of Canada. Had some close calls, mostly in big cities or by truckers out on the open highways. But I'd never ride here in Japan. Too many careless drivers. That said, there are also too many reckless riders that tempt fate. Ride defensively, or don't ride at all.
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kaminarioyaji
Herve Nmn L'Eisa
Unfortunately you are absolutely correct there. But that's what makes it so important to make sure drivers/riders who do drive/ride recklessly be made accountable for their actions.
Yes, the old riders rule of "ride defensively" is a good one, but in Japan you need to take that up a notch to "ride paranoid". City riding in Japan is about as far from biker's paradise as you can get I suppose...
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OresamaGaijinman
Lane splitting in Japan is legal, under certain restrictions: first, you may only pass on the left shoulder. Passing on the right or going between other vehicles is illegal. Next, all vehicles you are passing must be at a complete stop. Lastly, there must be a sidewalk to the left of the shoulder you are using to pass, otherwise lane splitting is unlawful. I reckon this is to give pedestrians priority on shoulders along which, there is no sidewalk. This how it was explained to me while I was taking the course to get my license for over 400cc bikes. Hardly sea worth it, given these restrictions and accordingly, of course, I hardly see anyone following the above rules. I even find myself breaking them sometimes - my air-cooled motor doesn't like sitting still in traffic.
That said, it's hard to tell who was at fault here could've been either. Could've been both. Can't say my heart would be broken if (key word being "IF") there is one less bousozoku on the road...
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