12-year-old boy in coma after being hit by truck; driver arrested

I'm reading a lot of these news as of late, this is concerning.

Oh my! Hope the boy will recover soon.

We have such a crossing near our place. At least 3 cars will go through before one deigns to stop.

Something exactly like this nearly occurred in my neighborhood yesterday to a one-year-old child. And there no lights at that intersection either. Thankfully a neighbor picked him up before a vehicle could hit him.

zichiToday  08:01 am JST

Could have been avoided if the crossing had lights.

I hope the kid survives this unscathed. 12 years old is too young, he hasn't even started yet.

Good point. And let’s not divert our attention (like police often do) from the excessive speeds and aggressive driving, especially in residential areas, by truck drivers pressured by their companies to waste no time between destinations.

He hit someone hard enough to put them in a coma while making a turn? That seems like extremely dangerous speeds.

Hopefully the kid pulls out of it.

snowymountainhellToday  09:25 am JST

Good point. And let’s not divert our attention (like police often do) from the excessive speeds and aggressive driving, especially in residential areas, by truck drivers pressured by their companies to waste no time between destinations.

You still got to know the Rules of the Road. If I even see an animal crossing an intersection, I do my darndest to swerve and avoid hitting it. Roadkill is messy. And I do the same for people. I don't want to hurt or kill somebody with my car.

@waddo,

You are lucky that even the fourth car stops for you.

In the part of Tokyo where I live you could wait all day to cross the road before a single vehicle stopped for you to cross the road.

I hope the kid makes a full recovery.

Did the truck have a curtain on the driver door window?

These are ridiculously common, but police told me they're not illegal.

Allow me to share this again:

Sobering road fatality stats from WHO (2016; per 100,000 of population):

Ireland - 4.1 (of which Pedestrians 19%; Cyclists 5%) 

Israel - 4.2 (of which Pedestrians 29%; Cyclists 3%)

Japan - 4.1 (of which Pedestrians 35%; Cyclists 15%)

Let's be careful out there.

Speeding and negligence, combined with goat track roads is a recipe for disaster. The amount of times I have seen people speeding down roads that you can barely squeeze one car through is uncountable in Japan. To be honest I am surprised these type of horrible accidents don't happen more often. Poor kid and family hopefully he makes a full recovery and the driver wakes up to himself in future!

Reading these comments it seems that you were all there to witness exactly what happened.

People often drive recklessly in my neighborhood, including on motorcycles and scooters. They're not only endangering others but risking the ruin of their own lives as well.

Sad news.

Few things I discovered and don't like at all are:

Many people do not respect when no traffic lights, and never stop in pedestrian crossings.

When incorporating to one road they just look at one side. More than once got unpleasant surprises.

Anyone feels the same?

No, *@Harry_Gatto 3:12pm ‘seems’*** it’s You **who may have been misreading the comments. No one to this point has claimed to be a eyewitness, just personal accounts of nearly similar situations and well wishes for the boy.

*- @Harry_Gatto 3:12pm:** “Reading these comments it seems that you were all there to witness exactly what happened.”-*

Would be interesting to read Your ideas on the story rather than on the commenters and their choice of words.

@snowymountainhell Who's not to say or think that the driver was turning at a safe speed the the boy walked out into traffic looking perhaps at his cellphone like many people do. Why assume the driver was turning at a high rate of speed and driving aggressively, perhaps he was turning at a low rate of speed and not driving aggressively as one can easily over turn making a turn at a high rate of speed. All of these are assumptions. What if some one came out and said the boy walked out into the run and was not paying attention to the traffic. The biggest question is if he was at an intersection why was the intersection not stripped off for pedestrians? Just my ASSumptions!

*Good point. And let’s not divert our attention (like police often do) from the excessive speeds and aggressive driving, especially in residential areas, by truck drivers pressured by their companies to waste no time between destinations.*

Lots of Japanese roads that were not carefully planned, with blind spot, no space between road and walls of houses, no sidewalks, etc..

Here's a report by Fuji News Network (FNN) on some of those road.

https://youtu.be/ePyM5eH96FE

snowymountainhellToday  06:42 pm JST

Would be interesting to read Your ideas on the story rather than on the commenters and their choice of words.

I wasn't there either and the information in the article just an incomplete summary so any speculation from me would be just as unhelpful. As for stories about similar situations? I've got lots of those after driving in Japan for 24 years, after holding driving licences and residence in seven different countries and being licensed to drive for almost sixty years I could reel them off for hours but that would be just as pointless and unhelpful too.

@kaimycahl, I've taught several young people to drive, and the first thing I tell them is they're getting behind the wheel of a weapon. I know, because of walking rural roads in Japan, that Japanese drivers are not the same as the young Canadians I've instructed. When most of us here see a pedestrian in an uncontrolled crossing, we take our foot off the gas pedal and hover it above the brake pedal, in case they jump out. The driver is ALWAYS 100% responsible. Argue that, if you like, you won't get anywhere with me because I've had two very expensive sports cars destroyed in collisions that were entirely (according to police, as well as me) the fault of the other driver. One of those sports cars had the roof taken off by the transport truck's frame. I hit the seat's recliner button when I knew I he was going to take me out. 'm lucky to be alive, and when I read this sort of story from a country I consider to be my 'second home', I get a really bad chill.

By the way, don't assume anything. As I used to tell my sales staff when you do that with a client you often turn yourself into the first three letters of that word. Same goes for driving.

Hopefully the boy will make a full recovery.

Regarding the truck driver, if he was speeding and driving dangerously, then he should be punished accordingly.

Also, this was something I heard my father once say, trucks should be required to drive 10 k.p.h. slower than cars on all roads. For example, if the speed limit is 40 k.p.h., then automatically truck drivers should automatically slow down to 30 k.p.h. Most trucks drive faster than cars do on the road, and this presents a dangerous problem. Trucks are bigger than cars and cause more damage than cars so they should always drive slower than cars, not faster.

Appreciate & respect your reply here @ Harry_Gatto 12:03am. Came back here due to your related entry today:

“Usually best to refrain from commenting or passing judgement until all the facts are known and they, the facts, are certainly not presented in this article.” -