Man in wheelchair, helper die after being hit by car in Yamaguchi

6 p.m., straight road, good visibility, 74-year-old driver. Which one of those is the problem?

Ah, Smith, don't forget that it is dark at 6pm during winter. It was likely to have been another poorly lit narrow road, but that's still no excuse. Driving a car is a responsibility, not a right and all drivers must be aware of their surroundings or prepared to suffer the consequences.

What a pity. It's just another sad news. May their soul rext in peace

I agree with Disillusioned, for a change. Yesterday only 1% of the moon was illuminated here in Yamaguchi, and Hokuhocho way out on the North coast away from the city, so it if at little after 6pm it may have been pitch black, other than the car headlights, but even so, all as Disillusioned said.

Disillusioned: obviously dark at 6:00 pm, but I kind of think the "good visibility" mentioned would have taken that into account, i.e. So long as you have your headlights on and/or the street is well lit. Of course, it's possible there was one of the far too many moronic drivers who switch their high beams on when another car is coming in the oncoming lane, and the driver couldn't make out the people, but in that case you think he'd have said as much.

Actually, I was thinking the same thing as @Disillusioned and @Timtak in terms of the time of day and the possibility of a poorly lit narrow single lane road. However, then I saw the NHK footage showing the scene of the accident. I think lighting and time of day probably contributed to it, and it is possible that the 2 individuals were not properly off to the side of the road. but me thinks age and lack of attention had more to do with it. Here is the link to the NHK article and footage.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20160112/k10010368201000.html

At night...high visibility clothing is really essential...I sometimes see walkers and bikers on country lanes..late at night...with DARK clothes..they are barely visible...and put themselves in real danger. I'm getting dog lights...and a hi-vis jacket...for my dog...for evening walks..

The irony of fate, if this was fate. Returning from celebration of 70 orbits around the sun and hit by a driver four years their senior. At least they reached and celebrated 70. Most humans on Earth never see 70. Life is a mystery. If hashtags were allowed here at JT i would end with #gratefuliamalive

With driving a vehicle comes a responsibly not to hit and kill people. There can't be any excuses.

The wheelchair would have made it harder to see the man. Sitting in a wheelchair, you're not as tall, and harder to see. People who use wheelchairs are hit by cars more often than walking pedestrians, unfortunately. I wonder if perhaps we could sell small, bright-colored flags to attach to the wheelchair, so that it would be more visible to cars?

how sad, RIP eye examine and driving test needed once reach 70, may be that helps.

Very unfortunate. Hope their friends and families make it through this.

@Smith

I have been wondering a similar thing about high beams. I feel like its the result of cars just having LED lighting in combination with people being ignorant to the fact that blasting your high beams when there is oncoming traffic is frowned upon. Is it really so hard to put together the notion that people can't see when there are 4 massively bright lights in their face?

I got a question. Does the 74 year old have good eye sight?

With people walking on the same narrow road as the cars, protected by a white line of paint, and red light signal allowing cars from the other direction to pass... I am actually surprised there is no more people involved in traffic accident.