Five-car pileup in Tokyo caused by 80-year-old driver

Thursday 05th February, 08:31 AM JST

TOKYO —

Two men were taken to hospital on Wednesday after a car accident in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward that involved five cars in total and is thought to have been caused by a man in his 80s, police said.

According to police, the man in his 80s slammed his car into the vehicle in front of his at the Sotobori Avenue intersection near JR Iidabashi station at around 3.45 p.m. The impact sent the first car into the opposite lanes where it collided with three oncoming cars. Police said the man in his 80s and a man in his 50s were taken to hospital but both are in stable condition.

News reports

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Latest 15 of 31 Total Comments Show All

tmarie at 11:29 AM JST - 5th February

"under 25 year olds cause the majority of accidents that is why their insurance costs are so high"

This wasn't what was reported a few weeks back on here.

As for "paying for the roads" I highly doubt that. As someone else said, things are rebuilt all the time. The roads paid for by these folks only are decades gone. As it is, I pay for the roads via tolls and taxes...
Samuraiiki at 11:32 AM JST - 5th February

If was 80 years old, and could afford a car, I would rather get rid of it and use public transportation. That way I would save on maintenance costs, and would feel a sense of duty with less time for boredom. Besides, you can always meet some still young obasans in their 60s and 70s in the trains.
zurcronium at 11:55 AM JST - 5th February

The roads are not payed for, that is why the Japanese government has a massive debt that, yes the young people getting run over by 80 year olds will have to pay for during their working lives. If they can find a job nowadays.

Mandatory testing for anyone over 65 is needed to renew a drivers license. Soon in Japan that will be half the people of the road.
PuffinMuffin at 11:58 AM JST - 5th February

solarbuster

PuffinMuffin must be living in an old folks home as most of the idiots on bicycles are teenagers every where else in Japan.

lol so I exaggerated a little but they terrorize me anyway, also for the fact that they might get injured themselves.
tmarie at 12:28 PM JST - 5th February

Samurai - More so when many public transportation for free for these folks.
timorborder at 12:29 PM JST - 5th February

Had a few close calls in Japan with older drivers. I am inclined to think that folks in their '80s should consider "hanging 'em up."
nedinjapan at 12:55 PM JST - 5th February

I witnessed a traffic accident in Nagasaki where a very old guy (well over 75) did a sudden right turn and hit a car from the side just like kamikaze pilots, and then kept driving without a brake! Not only his vision, but also all his senses were numb! Soon the police came but ignored this fact and after helping the two sides exchange insurance data, simply left! No wonder if more accidents happen everyday!
solarbuster at 02:15 PM JST - 5th February

>

I witnessed a traffic accident in Nagasaki where a very old guy (well over 75) did a sudden right turn and hit a car from the side just like kamikaze pilots, and then kept driving without a brake! Not only his vision, but also all his senses were numb!

I seen an 18 year old girl do the same thing, she stopped because she ended up sitting on top of a high curb with 2 drive wheels off the ground still reving the engine. An old guy turned the engine off for her, her sense were also numb it is called shock. Some people get it other don't.

Another girl in her 20s came right through the red light opposite me laughing and talking on her mobile, she did not even notice that a car crossing hit her back end, she just kept going.

Problem is there are drivers of all ages who should not be driving because their co-ordination and reflexs are not good enough. Many people if they had to take their driving tests in manual cars would never pass. Age has little to do with it apart from discrimation, like the report about the 80 year old. If it had of been a 20 or 30 year old it would never have made the press, 100s in the 20 to 30 year group cause multiple accidents every year but you never hear about it. The guy who caused an 80 car pile up in England was obviously not over 60 as his age was never mentioned in the media. I personally think all drivers should have a medical which includes reaction time and co-ordination every year. After having worked in the aquired brain injuries area and seen how disruptive to life a road accident can be.

There is nothing to be gained safety wise by picking on older drivers when some at 80 are much more responsive and healthier than some people in their 20s. The medicals that most countries have introduced for older drivers recognise this and are very general. The media practices age discrimination to sell their products that is why they target very young and older drivers, you guys in the middle are simply not newsworthy as so many accidents happen every day in your age group.
Kameleon at 02:43 PM JST - 5th February

80?!

It's bad enough having oldies riding... Sorry, wobbling on their bicycles down the street everyday, let alone driving a killing machine - car.
Yelnats at 03:38 PM JST - 5th February

Florida I believe is making it law for 80 year and older to take a driving test each year. It sure is going to be a pleasure driving there if that law goes in effect, as 80% of the state is 80 and older, and most won't pass the driving exam. Florida's State Anthem ... The Siren. They should rquire by law here also for 80 + to take exams.
sf2k at 03:51 PM JST - 5th February

wow, a while back I witnessed an accident at this very intersection between a car and motorbike (motorbike lost, no injuries). Also a turning accident. I agree with saborichan, people are not planning ahead. Sort of apropos these days
zaichik at 06:12 PM JST - 5th February

To be fair, this is a problem in many countries - my ex-b/f ended up going over the bonnet of an elderly driver who failed to see him on his bicycle and therefore didn't stop at the junction. Fortunately, ex-b/f only sustained minor injuries, but it could have been much, much worse.

My driving teacher taught me never to pre-turn like that. Drivers in Japan seem to do it a lot.

The one time I had to renew my Japanese driving licence (the day after the Chuetsu Earthquake, as it happens), the lecture for renewing drivers contained a warning that one should not turn the wheels in anticipation of turning while waiting to turn, for precisely the reason you cited.
Disillusioned at 10:50 PM JST - 5th February

I was taught to always keep the wheels straight when your making a right-hander so if you do get shunted you don't get shunted into oncoming traffic. However, I've noticed there are many right hand turn lanes in Japan that actually turn your car into oncoming traffic. A serious accident waiting to happen. This innocent guy that got shunted into the oncoming is lucky there wasn't one of those 10 tonne trucks coming the other way at 80kph. That's jam!
ThonTaddeo at 04:05 AM JST - 6th February

Obscure trivia: This intersection is a nexus point connecting three different wards. From the article, the accident took place in Bunkyo-ku, but had the car on the left made it about three more meters (into the middle of the intersection), it would have been in Shinjuku, and had it happened just behind the ambulance, it would have been in Chiyoda.

This really is a terribly-designed intersection; the lanes are unclear, there's very little room for cyclists and pedestrians (separate traffic lights for them, on the Shinjuku side), and the whole thing is a mess. Maybe this accident will spur one of the three wards to redesign it. (Then again, they'll probably just argue about who has jurisdiction and who gets to grab funds from the city!)
Ranger_Miffy at 07:26 PM JST - 6th February

Personally, I've given up expecting rational design in intersections in Japan. ThonTaddeo rightly points out just such a happenstance.