Fukuoka relaunches campaign against drunk driving

I remember that accident. It was beyond awful. The car bumped from behind by a drunk driver and run off a bridge into the river. The parents were unable to save their 3 little ones from drowning. And I dont think the guy even got very long in jail for it.

You would think after the horror of an accident like that it would change peoples mindset, but obviously these things are soon forgotten. It is the arrogance of people who think they are strong enough to get behind a wheel after drinking, taking other peoples lives into their own hands, that gets me the most.

Alcohol is a seriously dangerous drug in the wrong hands. Have fun with it by all means, but please please please respect it.

It is one thing to say it, but another to do it. Let's hope they get the j-flops out of their kobans and off their bicycles and get them out on the street 24/7 to stop drink driving.

That is 166 times one million yen fine. It is good business for police. Cars going through red lights or tired old taxi drivers driving dangerously is a much worse problem, but not profitable( Police like the new Lexus).

Do not drink and drive, it is not worth it for you, for your own family, friends etc..I hope we never have to learn the hard way.

Get caught and expect an instant life ban and a one million yen fine.

That might just give the 'A holes' pause for thought.

Drinking and driving is relaxing and enjoyable. Especially on a hot day, or when stuck in a traffic jam. Being drunk and driving is very stupid, dangerous and idiotic. People who drive drunk should also get counselling, they have serious issues.

The number of fatal drinking and driving accidents is so low, that the only thing lower is the "other" category. But people act like its the worst.

Drinking and driving is not likely to be reduced further by a direct no DUI campaign, and it sure as heck will not be eliminated completely any more than murder or stealing has been.

Seriously. Time for a new campaign. Such as 24 hour train and bus service, or bars legally open til morning so they can get the train, or subsized cab fare for drunks or something. Its the only way this low category is going to get permanently reduced further.

I believe I did predict the campaign would reduce DUI fatalities and then they would rise again, so I for one am not surprised. The new rules are draconian, annoying, and unrealistic. Japan was much more interesting when I could have a couple and still drive. Now I, like a lot of people it seems, just stay home or do something not nearly as social. I think fun is a victim of the zero tolerance campaign, despite the fact that more lives could have been saved in other ways.

I suggest a campaign to get old people off the roads if you really want to save lives. The case of the speeding plastered idiot killing the kids is sad, but hey, he broke all the rules and new ones were not going to stop him. He does not represent moderate people, which is most of us, and that accident does not represent anything but a very rare and unfortunate accident. Those kids are dead because the accident occurred on a bridge with a low guardrail. If had happened on dry land everyone would still be alive.

Sorry, but I am not going on with the usual knee-jerk DUI is the devil chant.

Oracle, i would have said im 100%.with ya last week, but yesterday i had a few and was driving quite fast/carelessly since i was in the inaka. I scared myself. I guess inaka driving and city driving is a complete different thing. City has traffic signals everywhere and therefore reduces ur chances of speeding/carelessness as opposed to country driving. So i guess my advice is, if ur gonna have a few and drive, do it in the city and not over long distances, not in the country!

I think the DUI law is great. It does save lives and it makes people think twice before they drink and drive. After all, if you are convicted there is a high chance you will lose your job and pay a stiff fine. It is a big gamble that most people I know are not willing to take. I know of a few taxi like businesses that have been created due to the new law. You can't stop everyone from drinking and driving. You probably never will. This is one law I am glad Japan passed. Japan needs more sever laws like this to deal with abusive parents and abusive spouses.

I can't understand why they make something like enforcing drinking and driving rules strict for a week to a month, and call it a 'campaign'. It should be tough going, ALL the time!! Don't just make a campaign of it, make it around-the-clock enforced to the best of police ability.

I saw the cops going into 'izakaya's yesterday handing out flyers and giving gentle reminders about drink-driving in Kitakyushu (Fukuoka ken). They didn't think it was worth giving one to me however, but I support kind actions.

It is one thing to say it, but another to do it. Let's hope they get the j-flops out of their kobans and off their bicycles and get them out on the street 24/7 to stop drink driving.

Funny, whenever I go past my local koban there's never anyone in it.

But perhaps they're just in the back beating a confession out of someone...

Don't just make a campaign of it, make it around-the-clock enforced to the best of police ability.

The best efforts of the Japanese police... haha, that's a good one, I like that.

Looks like drunk drivers have nothing to fear then.

The best efforts of the Japanese police... haha, that's a good one, I like that.

Actually, since 2001(year ending July) where Japan had 683 alcohol related auto crash fatalities, they've reduced that number to 144 (6.6% of the total auto fatalities) in 2011. The 6.6% stat is very low considering the fact that the top 3 have between 35%~40% (U.S. and Canada)

http://www.transportstrategygroup.com/persistent/catalogue_files/products/08CountryRSReportsSummary.pdf

http://www.e-stat.go.jp/SG1/estat/List.do?bid=000001023423&cycode=0

they've reduced that number to 144 (6.6% of the total auto fatalities) in 2011.

Umm, 2011 is not over yet...

naruhodo1Aug. 26, 2011 - 04:01PM JST

Oracle, i would have said im 100%.with ya last week, but yesterday i had a few and was driving quite fast/carelessly since i was in the inaka. I scared myself.

But you did not crash or killl anybody. Are you blaming the alcohol for your behavior? No chance it was your mood or feeling drowsy, or in a hurry to get home or something? Do you never drive too fast/carelessly except when drinking? And despite having a few, you checked yourself. Notice that?

Ya, i was in a hurry to get home...

Need to think about why these people are driving drunk, most road-side restaurants and izakayas serve alcohol, how do they think people get home? In rural areas where there are few train stations, drinking and driving is a way of life, the only method of transportation unless you stay home

Dokutan: " In rural areas where there are few train stations, drinking and driving is a way of life,"

And death. The law's the law, and I feel no pity for people who get cranked in the country-side and claim it's a 'necessity' to be allowed to drive home after a few because they live in inaka. If they choose to drink, they should not drive, period. If in a group they can appoint a designated driver (not much fun if s/he wants to drink too, but hey), or if alone the bar should confiscate car keys if the person came by car. Many places, even in inaka, have a 'driving service' -- someone they can call, at a steep price mind you, to pick up and drive the person home. I want to see the police further enforce the law made recently that izakaya/bar owners can also be charged if there's a drunk driving accident after someone left their establishment in a vehicle (after drinking).

smithinjapanAug. 27, 2011 - 12:49PM JST

If they choose to drink, they should not drive, period.

I cannot tell you how much you kill you own case when you exclaim "period". But of course you first chose to characterize the situation as one being "cranked". There used to be limits of drinking that were acceptable and they were fine and are still in use in many places and none of them include being "cranked".

if alone the bar should confiscate car keys if the person came by car.

Well, that is going to work out great until that system is used by bar employees to steal items from cars or some drunk girl gets raped for not being able to lock herself in her own car, or some guy freezes to death in winter because he could not get into his car to turn the heater on.

I want to see the police further enforce the law made recently that izakaya/bar owners can also be charged

That is a crazy law made by people grossly exaggerating the problem of drinking and driving, such as yourself. It is totally unreasonable to try and foist that kind of responsibility on bar owners, both that, and the situation with the keys. Bar owners are not the police. They don't have the authority to jail people, and they don't have the authority of search and seizure. And in the process of doing those, all sort of things can happen and the bar owner be at fault. You advocate putting them between a rock and a hard place, even if you advocate handing them police powers and immunity from prosecution when using them, because how many are actually trained to do those things to help ensure they themselves are not the ones who get injured?

By these methods you advocate, you seem to think the country is in a national crisis or something. Well its not. Drunk driving has gone way down though I don't think it ever accounted for even 15 percent of traffic fatalites. Now its pretty much under 5 percent. And if you have any knowledge of how the Japanese police operate, you might infer its even less. This is because they are really quick to blame the alcohol, same as you, at the expense of other factors. You make of this much, much more than it is.

@ysa ysa Don't drink and drive if their is nobody in the koban. That means they are out on the road looking for you. Strange thing I experienced in Okinawa. I was in a bar and it was busy. Suddenly it started raining, and everybody left. I asked owner why and he told me that police don't go out when it rains, so it is the que for everyone to drive home.