crime

Man arrested for uploading video of himself driving at over 170 kph

44 Comments

A man has been arrested and charged with reckless driving after he posted online a video of himself driving at over 170 kilometers per hour.

According to police, Daiki Yamazaki, a 24-year-old part-time worker, uploaded the video with the attached title, "Caught by a speed camera driving at over 200 km per hour on a highway," Sankei reported.

Yamazaki is charged with violating speeding regulations on three separate occasions over a period of 19 minutes from 4:26 p.m., while driving between 125 and 172 kilometers per hour on National Route 17 on March 7 in Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture.

Following his arrest, Yamazaki told police that he had uploaded the video in an effort to impress his friends.

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44 Comments
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Prison. Banned from driving, for life, before he takes someone else's.

-3 ( +9 / -12 )

I guess he will pay fine of 6000 yen and that is all ... !!

2 ( +8 / -6 )

We really have to be thankful for Youtube. Some of these narcissistic idiots just can't stop themselves from recording and posting their crimes for everyone to see. Makes them easy to catch.

10 ( +15 / -5 )

He isn't the first. I've heard of people doing this on motorcycles & cars throughout the years.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Idiot, go to Germany, rent a car for 6000 yen/day and drive it 250 km/h as much as you wish. Nobody cares...

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

Today we give thanks to the hard work of speed cameras.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

I did that speed during my driving lesson in Germany...

1 ( +5 / -4 )

His friends must surely be impressed by his stupidity. Or just equally stupid.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Yea, but it's a bit more difficult to rent a car without the speed electronically limited to 250 km/h (certainly not for 50 EUR/day). I've never driven faster than 120 in Japan, the highways are just too poor quality for this and you're risking a lot. That guy is really out of his mind doing what he did.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Prison. Banned from driving, for life, before he takes someone else's.

Prison is a bit extreme for driving over the speed limit. Suspending his license for 6 months to 1 year with the promise of a lifetime suspension if law is broken again sounds right. However, taking away a license doesn't exactly mean he won't be behind the wheel again.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

"We really have to be thankful for Youtube."

Kind if goes both ways, people are encouraged by the fame of youtube to do crazy things. Maybe youtube indirectly encouraged this dangerous act.

Living where the speed limit on most highways is already greater than 120 kph, this doesn't seem all that fast. But its the speed differential with the vehicles around him that makes it dangerous.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

He was caught on the speed camera. Didn't he know that? I was once caught doing just 90 km on a 50 km and had to spend a month at driving class and a huge fine. I realized the camera flash at the time. Got my picture and plate number. Never again.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If you are doing less than 20km/h above the speed limit and get caught, essentially you get a slap on the wrist. More than that, and the penalties rapidly get more draconian.

I have little patience for those who speed in built up areas (that's just asking for trouble), but those 70 km/h stretches of straight highway just kill me.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I guess he will pay fine of 6000 yen and that is all ... !!

Errr... No, actually. He'll pay a fine closer to the range of 80,000 per incident and lose his license for at minimum a year (with a possible reduction of that time if he satisfactorily attends a government-run driver improvement course).

But I agree that the asshat is an idiot and deserves any punishment he gets for being so reckless. 170kph is ridiculously fast for the average real speed most drivers adopt on national highways.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Not sure how it works in Japan.

But in many countries i lived they had open days or days where you can drive on the racetrack or b drag streep .

Went often with my and other MCC to check our Bikes and cars, BBQ too. Killarney was great.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Most people who drive that fast with any regularity have enough sense to know by heart where the speed cameras are located and/or to drive with their front license plate removed.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Odd story. He was caught because he posted film of him speeding but was also caught on speed camera? Which one? Was he doing over 170 or over 200 kmh?

Penalty will be fine (I paid 100,000 for doing 150 in 120 zone) and loss of licence (mine was suspended for 1 year and i had to sit ain a "lecture" for a day before getting it back.

finally, the idiocy of people who upload films of them doing illegla or reulsive stuff never ceases to amaze me.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

There are roads in Japan you could drive at 170km without risking injuring others, irrespective of the law here of course. Or as others suggested, go to Germany. I drove at speeds faster than that in the Australian outback too. The speed isn't the issue, it just depends where you are doing it. There are cars capable of remaining under control at those speeds.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

With every speed camera registered and available as public knowldege in Japan, you have to be an idiot to get caught by one. I don't drive recklessly like this guy, but I do drive over the 100 kph speed limit, espcially on the highways (like many others), and have a GPS-based radar dectetor that already has every speed trap and camera in the country programmed into it that alerts you a couple of kilometers in advance. Why someone who obviously likes to speed a lot like this guy wouldn't have been using one is puzzling.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

zichi

Doing under 120 kph on the open highway is certainly over the speed limit and illegal but hardly reckless. Perhaps that's why speed cameras are normally programmed not to react unless a vehcile is travelling over 130 kph? Judging by the large numbers of drivers who do drive over 100 kph on the highways, I'm not alone in feeling that highway speed limits in Japan are set too low and can be elevated without sacrificing road safety.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Whoever said a ¥6,000 fine must not drive a car in japan! An illegal parking fine is ¥15,000! I got caught once speeding by an unmarked car, be careful folks the fancy radar detectors only cover speed traps and cameras but not unmarked cars! It was 2am and I was the only car for miles.... I was doing 120 in a 100... ¥45,000 fine!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I think he went through 3 Speed Cameras, you can see the flash of the Camera on the Video. Those things are usually close to off and on-ramps as they take a lot pictures (not just speeders) and thus can track motor vehicles.

Many cases been solved that way, Big Brother watches.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

especially since you are a foreign national in this country.

Obviously he can play the "Sorry, I don't speak Japanese" card and/or difficult for Japanese cops to understand an international license card to his advantage.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

It"s ME

What you're talking about are not speed cameras but are N-System cameras which are ubiquitous and are placed overhead on both surface roads and highways and at every highway toll booth (entering and exiting) and are employed by the police to identify license plates and track vehicles which are involved in criminal activity. They do not have radars and cannot calculate a vehicles' instantaneous speed. Authorities could conceivably calculate a vehicle speed by the time elapsed between two of these N-System cameras and prove mathematically that a driver was traveling above the speed limit between Point A and Point B but thankfully they don't.

N-System: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%87%AA%E5%8B%95%E8%BB%8A%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3%E3%83%90%E3%83%BC%E8%87%AA%E5%8B%95%E8%AA%AD%E5%8F%96%E8%A3%85%E7%BD%AE

Speed camera types: http://www.accessj.com/2013/05/automated-speed-cameras-in-japan.html

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

My only blemish on my once 'Gold' driver's license is when I was only five kilometers over on a not crowded road .. I believe I paid 15,000 yen fine but more importantly I was totally disappointed that my license would not be Gold again until after my next renewal. Forgot, but I think five years. That comes up in October. It was a nice Sunday and 'speed traps' are set up at times. I spoke in very polite Japanese, but that did not help. I'm sure I helped their daily quota. Have a traffic light near my home that could make a lot of police meet their quota early in the morning. Red lights are often run and their speed is far more than what I was traveling ... I guess only Sunday, huh?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Not sure if the Gaijin Card would work here.

Said that I find the local speed limits ridiculously low, back home we can do 130km/h on the Freeway and town traffic is usually 50km/h, Country roads are 80km/h.

Speeds for Bikes here are idiotic, also never seen traffic jams like during the holiday periods.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

In my opinion its reckless to break both the speed limits and the law especially since you are a foreign national in this country. People who like to speed always make the same remarks as yourself. Go to a track if you like to speed.

So, if the speed limit were raised to 200 km/h, the driver would no longer be reckless?

Speeding is against the law whichever country one lives in. We don't, however, need moral guardians preaching to us.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Stupid but if it was a freeway not as stupid as the driving I witnessed yesterday in the pouring rain with people driving at least 80 in 40 zones on narrow windy roads and even if there were two lanes I still had to speed up to get in the left lane and let them past and then get back in the right lane to make my turn. Crazy, no commonsense, rude and arrogant driving. 170kms on a freeway in good conditions is just stupid. Who drives at the speed limit here. 10 percent of people. Madness.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This IS Japan. As a member of the military, or as an ambassador representing whichever country you are from... you should know better, what are you, an inexperienced child or a responsible adult? Abide by the traffic laws or ship yourself off to somewhere you can do your 'speed' legally."

4 ( +6 / -2 )

It's possible to be charged with reckless driving in Japan? O_o

2 ( +2 / -0 )

For anyone who doesn't get the seriousness of the crime, Route 17 is NOT a toll highway. It is a two lane road with intersections every few hundred meters. Reaching speeds of up to at least 175km/h, it is almost luck that he didn't kill someone.

In other words, this is a complete scumbag who doesn't care for the safety of others. He should be locked up for a month or 3 and license taken away for 3 years at least.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

@clamenza. Then that is almost a jailable offence in my opinion. I was thinking it was a freeway or expressway with long straight roads and few if any lights. Complete and utter irresponsibility.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Are there no streets in Japan that have no speed limit (other than a race course of course)? In Germany you can enter the Autobahn and hit the gas and only other cars in front of you and your car's ability can limit your top speed.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

@Fox's dad. See that where you started that sentence, 'In Germany...' That's right. End of gripe. This IS Japan.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

CGB Spender - We're all aware of how "cool" and "epic" you believe the German Autobahn to be. We are aware of its lack of a speed limit. But we are talking about Japan. A quick Google search would confirm for you the Japanese road laws. Germany has nothing to do with the story at hand.

Or perhaps you just want to point out how "awesome" and "epic" the German Autobahn is. Ok. Please regale us with a story about your friend's uncle's wife's brother who drove the Autobahn back in 1988. Get it out of your system, quick, so we can move on.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Simple fact is you drive to the conditions. Weather, type of road and such. While its ok to max your car out safely on a G auto bahn its not safe to drive at 170kms anywhere in Japan I would suspect. Suzuka, Fuji, Motegi perhaps.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

I did that speed during my driving lesson in Germany... man you germans get it so good, wish I could drive that fast on a public rd, ive been up to 230kph........ but that was on a race track. LOL

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

I have done 213km/h on my customised Honda CB750C at Killarney, can't remember what my friend got out of her on the quarter-mile.

Nor the stats from my Kawasaki 440 LTD.

Track can be great fun with friends, BBQ, etc. At the dragstrop they had an old BMW with a bunch of steel hammers we folded that into half. Great times, of course no liquor.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Just make the penalties consistant. How about those that run red lights time and time again? That deserves a sold fine.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The rules are the rules, I love cars, but do my faster driving on the track..

I do wish however other dangerous driving was more harshly punished, not keeping with the speed of the other traffic for example, putting on hazard lights as its a I can park anywhere excuse and one that is particularly bad in Japan, not stopping for clearly parked pedestrian crossings when people are clearly wanting to cross.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

clearly marked

0 ( +0 / -0 )

What? Only 170Kph? That is not fast! Fast for your roads yes, but not that fast.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

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