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Police have arrested a 21-year-old man on suspicion of reckless driving after he drove through a pedestrian throng at Shibuya’s famous scramble crossing in Tokyo while the traffic lights were red.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 5:50 p.m. on April 7. The suspect, identified as Daiju Takabayashi, had no driver’s license, Fuji TV reported. He ignored a red traffic signal at the intersection of the famous crossing in front of JR Shibuya Station and drove slowly through the startled pedestrians. Nobody was hurt, police said.
Just before the incident, Takabayashi was approached by a police officer but drove away as he was being questioned about his occupation. Police said he had previously had his driver’s license revoked due to a traffic violation.
Police quoted him as saying, “I panicked and fled when the officer began to question me. Since I only had a temporary license, I didn’t think I was illegally driving.”
© Japan Today
22 Comments
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smithinjapan
Well, he ran from police during questioning, he was driving without a license, and he engaged in reckless driving. I'd say jail time.
JeffLee
His "occupation"?! Shouldn't the cop have asked about his driving record and conduct, since he had just driven thru a red light?
Strangerland
Do you know the answer to that question? (I don't, which is why I ask)
Moderator
You can find the answer in the third paragraph.
papigiulio
Another nutter. Wasnt there another guy who drove through the scramble being chased by the police a while back? They need to come up with some kind of solution to increase safety for the pedestrians there because this is an incident waiting to happen. One nutter in a car can take out dozens of people.
Yuko Maeda
Only a matter of time before some ISIS-inspired sheep drives full speed thru that crossing. People on foot should be more aware, although "This is Japan, _____."
kohakuebisu
This deserves a severe punishment. "I panicked and ran away" won't cut it.
If its not his car, the owner should be reprimanded too for lending it to him.
FizzBit
Who is "they!? The government?
Jheesh. Personal responsibility is so important to a successful culture. That's the power of guilt that made this guy panic in the first place.
kurisupisu
Driving through pedestrians on crossings and through red lights happens all the time here.....
Beatrix
—They need to come up with some kind of solution to increase safety for the pedestrians there because this is an incident waiting to happen.—
Yes! Full barriers should rise around all pedestrian crossings when the lights change to ensure no cars can get through.
stepoutsidethebox
Nothing to see here. I can totally understand the confusion. The light was red and Japanese people are not taught what that means.
Disillusioned
Let's hope this idiot's driving days are over until he grows up a bit.
DaDude
Reminds me of the movie Tokyo Drift when they raced through that intersection and the visual effects made it look like people were getting out of the way in sync.
afanofjapan
Beatrix makes an interesting point. I have seen video of poles that come up out of the ground to prevent cars driving into tram/bus lanes (and retract when the tram/bus approaches). This would certainly make the intersection much safer, though you would have to weigh up the possible consequences of what happens if cars are lined up over those poles when the lights turn red (sensors could prevent that i guess).
Would make for some funny videos of idiot drivers trying to run the red light (which happens so often here), and getting tipped or smashing straight into the poles.
itsonlyrocknroll
Behavioural psychologists will probably be queueing round the block to unlock what is lurking above Daiju Takabayashi shoulders. Cuckoo crazy....
shogun36
It only took them 2 months to arrest him? Real swift action there coppers....
afanofjapan
Not really hard to figure out. He got stopped by police for shokushitsu and since he didnt have a license, he did a runner. Got stuck at the lights of the scramble crossing, and panicked, thinking they would catch up to him. So he edged forward to try and get through, hoping people would get out of the way.
Its a good thing he didnt fully panick and go foot to the floor through the intersection. Nobody was injured, and the police eventually arrested him for it.
Strangerland
Right. It's a good thing we have these 4 paragraphs in the article to determine that they were negligent in taking that long, and that there were no reasons whatsoever that it may have realistically taken as long as it did.
itsonlyrocknroll
Hi Afanofjapan, Yes indeed...
.Humour me for a moment, there is this theory of starling crossings, supposedly crossings that make drivers cyclists pedestrians more aware of dangers associated with vehicular traffic..........
Why did, how did,Daiju Takabayashi make a decision to arrive at this particular crossing?
When Daiju Takabayashi ventured out that day aware he was lacking the necessary driving permit, quote to allow an individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles, Daiju Takabayashi chose to drive and eventfully alight at one of Shibuya most congested crossings......
This crossing was bound to be policed by more that one officer dibble.
My Aunt in law, a teacher, analogy believes it is some form of automotive fixation suggesting a latent childhood connection to the steering assembly.
As a matter of interest what do you think?
afanofjapan
First thing is that according to the Daiju, he thought he was allowed to drive when he left his house. I am not sure what the temporary license is in Japan (is it the blue license, which is the first one you get after passing the exam?). Or perhaps it was something else - as in he had had his license recently revoked.
Now, I have never been pulled over by police while driving, unless i did doing something wrong. It is something that rarely happens. So whether he knew his license was valid or not, he probably assumed he wouldnt be pulled over. Why would you drive if you dont have a valid license? Same reason old people drive even though their senses are diminished and their reaction times are getting painfully slow... They are overly confident in their abilities to drive, and dont want to/cant catch public transport. Especially true for people who live out in the country (doesnt say where Daiju is from).
But for some reason, he was stopped for questioning by police. "asking about his occupation" is a literal translation for 職務質問, or shoku-shitsu. Something that foreigners in Japan may have experienced, as well as any dodgy looking Japanese lout. Its the one where police come up and demand you give them your ID and answer questions about what you are doing at that particular place. For starters, I have no idea why they stopped him in his car for that, i suspect he was parked on the side of the road because I have only ever had a shokushitsu from foot/bike police. There they pointed out that his license was in fact invalid. So he got scared and did a runner.... It also doesnt say where the shokushitsu happened, but its possible it happened right before that scramble crossing, leaving the crossing as his only way to escape.
So what do i think? I think its a guy who thought he would be fine to drive that day, and check out the scramble crossing. Then he got questioned, and panicked. He could have, but didnt hurt anyone, and he got arrested, probably screwing up a lot of things for his future.