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A 59-year-old woman and her 35-year-old daughter were killed after their car was hit by a truck driven by a 43-year-old man on the Shin-Tomei Expressway in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Tuesday.
Police said the truck driver, Seiji Ohara, from Takashima in Shiga Prefecture, has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving resulting in death, Fuji TV reported.
According to police, the crash occurred at around 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Ohara’s truck rear-ended the car driven by Yu Mochizuki, sending it into another truck in front of it. Mochizuki and her mother Masayo, who was in the front passenger seat, suffered extensive injuries and were taken to hospital where they died late Tuesday.
The accident occurred on a curve. Ohara was quoted by police as saying he took his eyes off the road in front of him for a few seconds.
© Japan Today
15 Comments
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Speed
Another one.
yokohamarides
According to recent studies Australian drivers are engaged in some type of distracting activity while they are driving 45% of the time they are behind the wheel. American drivers are distracted 50% of time. From casual observation over the past couple years biking to work I’d say Japanese drivers are no different. Very scary.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/candid-camera-what-drivers-are-really-doing-behind-the-wheel-20181004-p507sj.html
Belrick
He took his eyes off for a second? But he must have known they were in front of him!
Do the hustle
It would seem that it was more as more than just a few seconds. What exactly was he doing? Texting? Reading a newspaper? Playing Pokémon go?
Mezane
All trucks must having sensing systems installed to stop them from hitting cars and people.
stepoutsidethebox
I ride the express way every day to work. One thing I NEVER do is cruise behind or in front of a truck. Certainly never between two trucks.
chisineko
Certainly seems to have been a violation of The Assured Clear Distance concept. Must leave adequate distance behind car in front to stop safely when required. A sincere apology probably not sufficient.
Goodlucktoyou
If there is a truck or trucks I use my turbo and pass them by at least two cars. They don’t indicate and text when driving and change lanes faster than I can change the tv channel when driving.
ShinCebu
oh NO. i was driving in Tomei express too that day from Kyoto to Yokohama. running about 130kph-150kph. glad we are safe.
Vince Black
There is a tendency for truckers in this country to take their eyes off the road, after all they're sitting way up there in a massive steel dinosaur they're gonna be safe no matter what.
Such a waste
Yubaru
No they are not going to "safe no matter what" as history has proven differently time and time again here. Truck drivers often die in accidents here, and many times it's due to lack of oversight by companies looking to make money.
And there is a "tendency" for every driver in this country to take their eyes off the road, at one time or another, while driving.
Any driver who says otherwise is lying through their teeth!
Spidey
A "few seconds" is an eternity when operating a vehicle.
S
Speed
Just after reading this article yesterday, a giant truck tailgated me all the way to the market even though I was going about 15-20 over the speed limit. . All I could see was grill in my rear view mirror. Kept reminding of this article and accident. This kind of crud happens all the time.
Yubaru
There are far too many drivers here that dont pay attention to whats behind them when driving on the road and take it as a personal affront when someone tries to pass them.
And you could have just slowed down to the speed limit and let the sucker by too.