Traffic accidents on the rise due to rolling blackouts
TOKYO —
Traffic accidents are increasing as a result of traffic lights being switched off due to rolling power blackouts in many prefectures, the national Police Agency reported Monday. In Saitama Prefecture, 27 traffic accidents were reported for the period between March 14 and 17, police announced.
All incidents occurred in places where traffic lights were out and no policemen regulated the traffic.
According to police officials, the majority of traffic incidents are light car collisions, but among the 27, 13 involved pedestrians, including one with a serious injury, which occurred during the scheduled blackout in Yoshino, Saitama city on March 17.
Meanwhile, 16 similar accidents were reported in Shizuoka Prefecture where some 2,060 traffic lights were affected during the total of 42 hours without electricity since the rolling blackouts started on March 14.
Police are urging drivers to speed less and drive safely. Plans for increasing police patrols on the roads are also being suggested.
Compiled from news reports
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22 Comments
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ahemmm
why do they have to cut the traffic lights? surely they have a way to keep them on during the blackouts...
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TheBigRiceBowl
My guess is that people are NOT taking extra precautions during the black outs, as they should be. I have seen this time and again; motorists do not slow down when approaching a signal/intersection nor do they "look both ways before crossing the street".
There have been so many incidences (especially when living in Fukui), that when ambulances or fire trucks approached, people did NOT pull over and wait. In fact, they continued to cross at intersections in spite of the fact that they should have known better.
It is no wonder that the ambulances and fire trucks don't speed in this country; they would be continually taking out other motorists who were not paying attention!
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GW
Man last week when I drove through a blacked out area it was damned scary, almost ALL cars were roaring straight thru without little hint of slowing down etc.
No one here appears to understand the concept of 4way stops at an intersection. So later that night on TV some jack a$$ is in a car roaring through several intersections without a hint of slowing down marveling at how the lights were out. I am trully surprised there are not a hell of a lot more accidents/injuries!
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cwhite
nope, Japan has the traffic lights on the same grid as everything else with no backup power. You would think that with the new LED traffic lights they at least incorporate solar power with battery to save energy as well as for emergencies.
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nisegaijin
Yep, get all the coppers out in the blackout areas so we can enjoy a good drive without staring at rear view mirror looking out for biker cops everywhere else!
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ExportExpert
Simple if everyone just used the right hand rule, which means gove way to all traffic approaching on your right this way traffic can move smoothly.
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RobertCB
"Man last week when I drove through a blacked out area it was damned scary, almost ALL cars were roaring straight thru without little hint of slowing down etc."
Yup same experience. Many people are actually driving faster, like a green flag has been waved. Combine that with all the paper drivers who are out and it's nuts out there.
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888naff
Reminds me of when Japanese or Americans when first driving in Europe.
Basically often hear and see they are not used to making decisions for your self at junctions / roundabouts, etc.. ...more used to being told to stop/start by traffic lights.
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KnowBetter
ExportExpert - "Simple if everyone just used the right hand rule, which means gove way to all traffic approaching on your right this way traffic can move smoothly."
I don't think Japanese will understand the right hand rule as they drive on the left hand side of the road so in Japan you do not have the "right of way' but the "left of way" rule. Yet with the way most people drive here I don't think that even flies.
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borscht
Last time I renewed my license the examiner (?) asked the crowd I was in "Who has the right of way at an intersection with no stop signs or signals?" and the correct answer was, "The car on the right." So, while we drive on the left, we've incorporated rules similar to the US.
On the other hand, even with signals, most drivers here seem to assume they are the only cars on the road and drive accordingly.
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Disillusioned
Suggested? When? Next year?
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ExportExpert
Yes you give way to traffic on the RIGHT thats why its called the Right Hand Rule, it doesnt matter that we drive on the left in Japan, the same rule should apply and work like a charm, if only people obeyed it.
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Disillusioned
Exportexpert - that is not necessarily so. There are also priority road rules at intersections with failed signals. However, the priority road rules seem to be just a quick look, a wave and a nod then dump it!
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ThonTaddeo
Simple solution that drivers won't ilke: ban automobile traffic during the blackouts.
Or, more realistically, lower the speed limit to the 30 kph used by 50cc motorbikes. A speed less than that should be reasonable enough for many collisions to be avoided.
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moonknightskye
no traffic lights + no traffic police = accidents. this is common sense
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whiskeysour
slowing down and using caution + Saitama Driver = Nande slow down ? WHY ? " SMASH "
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whiskeysour
driving slow and using caution - It's forbidden japan to do that !!!
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oberst
right hand rule, priority road rule.................so very German like but also impossible to figure out( in time ) when driving in high speed.
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sfjp330
For safety reasons, all vehicles that received tickets for any moving violation, the fines should double during the rolling blackouts for any areas that has this problem. The heavy fines should be enforced until electricity availability is back to normal. This will make drivers think twice and hopefully, they will be more careful.
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Fadamor
Had a good laugh at this. "Because of the blackouts, please break the traffic laws less often."
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KnowBetter
ExportExpert - "Yes you give way to traffic on the RIGHT thats why its called the Right Hand Rule, it doesnt matter that we drive on the left in Japan, the same rule should apply and work like a charm, if only people obeyed it."
Really?!? merge much into the flow of traffic? In North America people are supposed to allow on ramp traffic ON THEIR RIGHT to merge in but that means based on your logic that in Japan NO ONE on the through traffic should allow anyone to merge into the traffic because they are coming in from the left and the right has the right of way. Good thing there aren't too many roundabouts in Japan because that would really just suck trying to get into them FROM THE LEFT.
I said that these rolling blaclouts would create far larger problems for eastern Japan. Traffic deaths and injuries are just the beginning. Wait for the electrical hazzards that will soon start to happen from people hooking up generators to their homes and back feeding power in a dead grid where someone thinking there is no power get fried. Then there's the food poisoning which I'm sure will follow as the temps go up in the coming months followed by people cooking to death and stupid mistakes from lack of sleep due to all these blackouts. Yeah, TEPCO did well placing all their eggs in ONE BASKET right up against the shoreline so that if a large enough earthquake knocked out power to the reactors there'd most likely be a large enough Tsunami to wip out the backup generators. I'm sure that these idiots place the handheld fire extinguisher right behind the stove so when the fire starts you need to reach through the 70cm flames to get it.
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Sarge
Is it possible to sue TEPCO over this?
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