Police in Yachimata, Chiba Prefecture, said Saturday they have arrested a 59-year-old man on suspicion of dangerous driving resulting in death after the truck he was driving hit and killed a 74-year-old man in a wheelchair.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 9 p.m. Friday. NHK reported that the truck, driven by Masaharu Ito, a company executive who lives nearby, hit Yoshio Ishiguro, a resident of nearby Shiki City, from behind.
Police said Ishiguro was in his wheelchair moving along the side of the road when he was hit. He was taken to hospital where he died about 90 minutes after arrival.
The scene of the accident is a straight road with one lane in each direction in an area dotted with houses among fields, about 5 kilometers south of JR Yachimata Station.There are few streetlights and visibility is poor at night.
© Japan Today
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sakurasuki
This article has more information
https://news.nifty.com/article/domestic/society/12198-3319621/
Couldn't blame driver 100%, basically that road there's no dedicated pedestrian line. We don't know what kind of reflective gear that wheel chair being used, since incident happened in 9 PM.
Some road in Japan, it has very minimum road light, especially farther out from big cities.
Disillusioned
Drivers must drive to the conditions and are 100% responsible.
Mr Kipling
Yes you can. The driver has a responsibility to drive without hitting other vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians and people in wheelchairs. It is actually the law. 100%. If visibility is poor then more care is needed.
Abe234
Poor road design is also partly responsible here. Crash barriers could have prevented this by separating traffic and pedestrian. It is easy to blame everything on the driver. Yes, he is responsible, but just like people riding bikes on the road, Wearing dark clothing, no lights, against oncoming traffic, so they are not 100% to blame. (maybe they are under japanese law), but Being a truck driver it makes me cringe seeing people on the road, when they shouldn't be. and not to mention no sidewalks, no lights, and no crash barriers, LOW position, no lights on a wheel chair, to seperate traffic and pedestrians. We can see the road and pedestrian area in the photo. The holes all lined up in this tragic accident.And I'm sure if the city, police looked at this objectively, they could improve safety everywhere.
https://news.nifty.com/article/domestic/society/12198-3319621/
wallace
Not a road a 74-year-old man in a wheelchair should have been on at 9 pm.
Alongfortheride
DisillusionedToday 09:29 am JST
Drivers must drive to the conditions and are 100% responsible.
Yes correct BUT, if it was dark, the wheelchair and rider wear black clothes & if by chance on a narrow road another vehicle was coming there is a blind spot in the middle between 2 dipped lights. How can that be the drivers fault when he can not see the person?
Some responsibility needs to be taken by people who walk/ride/run at night wearing dark colored clothes with no reflectors. Not saying thats the case yet as we do not know the facts but in many cases not "100% the drivers responsibie"
wallace
Photo of the road
https://news.nifty.com/article/domestic/society/12198-3319621/
Concerned Citizen
Does that mean that pedestrians can walk on roads wherever they want? That the government is not obligated to provide safety zones for pedestrians (crosswalks, traffic light guidance) and enact safety laws regarding pedestrians traffic?
Mr Kipling
Simple answer... In Japan, yes.
Welcome to driving in Japan.
Mr Kipling
The driver wasn't blind. If he didn't see him then he was either not paying attention or driving too fast for the road conditions or both.
Looks like a lot of posters either don't drive in Japan or have no idea about the driving rules.
wallace
When I looked at the photo I would not want to be walking on it at 9 pm. Very few road lights.
wallace
Burning BushToday 03:31 pm JST
Not a road a 74-year-old man in a wheelchair should have been on at 9 pm.
Did you look at the photo I posted a link to? Two-lane road. Very few street lights. No sidewalk. A guy in a wheelchair in dark clothing without lights. No moon.
I would not even walk it at 9 pm.
The wheelchair guy exercised his rights. Where is he now?
wallace
Burning Bush
You can climb a mountain on a night, but would you do it?
wallace
Burning Bush
I would not even walk it at 9 pm.
I don't have a fear of the dark. But I do avoid locations I would consider to be unsafe.
No moon.
Seriously. If the moon is full there is much additional light but last Saturday there was no moon. Guess you have lived in the city for too many years.
No.
I would have begun my journey before it became dark.
The wheelchair guy exercised his rights. Where is he now?
Good to be right not good to be dead. No victim blaming. Just common sense.
We live in a location with few street lights. When coming home in the dark we, and others, use torches.
wallace
from the post
"The scene of the accident is a straight road with one lane in each direction in an area dotted with houses among fields, about 5 kilometers south of JR Yachimata Station. There are few streetlights and visibility is poor at night."
Not the safest of roads to be on in a dark night.
Hawk
The police quote the driver as saying, "I wasn't looking ahead properly." This article also has the wheelchair user "outside the shoulder" of the road.
https://nordot.app/1199992257505870030?c=428427385053398113
(Auto translated by my phone)
If you're driving at night, you have to account for the reduced visibility and drive accordingly. You can wish for more streetlights, or wider shoulders and sidewalks, or that other users are wearing bright clothing and using lights, reflectors etc, but you have to drive to the conditions in front of you.
wallace
The article says the guy was in a wheelchair. I think he may have been using an electric wheelchair many older people use. One with three wheels. What do they call them? Disability scooter.
Hawk
I think they are different terms in Japanese. 車いす vs 電動車いす. An electric one would have had lights, I'm guessing. Could be wrong.
wallace
Cheaper ones not. More expensive yes.
The ones in my location don't have lights.
Hawk
It's an interesting one. I asked ChatGPT, which reckons one that can travel up to 6kms doesn't need lights or anything, and over 6km requires similar visibility aids to a bicycle, such as front and rear lights. But that's ChatGPT so...
I think it's moot on this occasion anyway, as I assume that the reports would have specified if it was an electric wheelchair.
Estatesman
One of my biggest fears is hitting another pedestrian in Japan. Sometimes I ask myself if having a jacked up SUV is a good choice. I do find myself extra extra careful when driving. I do not want to injure anyone. If anything was to ever happen by accident, I would take full responsibility. No "I don't remember" or "My breaks didn't work" coming from me.
When I was young I was hit by a car. I survived, by the grace of God. The driver was sentenced to prison, where he died.
I know he made a mistake that is why it is called an accident. He didn't do it on purpose, but he had to be held accountable. I believe we have to be held accountable for our actions.
ebisen
The driver will be held at fault with probably over 80% responsibility. In Japan you are obliged to drive the conditions, there's no "if was too dark and he wore black"excuse. He is supposed to drive slow enough to see even such a person.
If you think otherwise, you either don't have a driver's license (and are not entitled to an opinion). More dangerously, if your have a license, better to give it back before your land yourself in a similar situation thinking you're not at fault.
Acertain
As a tax payer of Japan I am entitled to using the road at whatever time I need to wearing whatever clothing I choose and drivers are required to drive to the conditions before them, which means slowing down when visibility is low.
In Japan the car is not even the main mode of transportation so it is unfair to assume drivers own the road. Share the road and drive safely whatever the vehicle.
36% public transport 27% driving 23% walking 13% bicycling
https://www.sc-abeam.com/and_mobility/en/article/20201203-01/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338254080_Understanding_the_nature_of_walking_and_cycling_for_transport_in_Japan
https://www.statista.com/topics/4669/public-transportation-in-japan/