A 28-year-old Self-Defense Force member has been arrested for dangerous driving after tailgating a woman on the expressway.
According to police, Takuya Takahashi, a member of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force at Camp Sangenya in Okayama Prefecture, swerved in front of a car being driven by a 54-year-old woman on the Sanyo Expressway in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, on Nov 18, Fuji TV reported. He then got behind her and tailgated her for about 1.4 kilometers before she stopped her car.
Police said Takahashi also threw an empty can from his car window at the woman’s vehicle before leaving the scene.
© Japan Today
14 Comments
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Neux Reux
Non-American reader here!...and i know what Tailgaiting means... but going down some rabbit's hole and 16th Century Hartlepool slang ??...oohhh lets just go back to the puffy-ego Tailgaiting soldier!
commanteer
One word versus 5 words.
All it requires is the knowledge that it means "driving dangerously close to another vehicle." Which was no problem for you. "Far down the rabbit hole of Americana" makes it sound as though you are talking about 16th Century Hartlepool slang rather than a common term in the world's most widely spoken variation of the world's most widely spoken language.
M3M3M3
It's not simply a matter of looking up a definition of an ordinary word with a long established meaning. Tailgating is a euphemism. It requires some understanding of pickup trucks and the American practice of gathering around the tailgate of a pickup truck at sporting events etc. It's so far down the rabbit hole of Americana that it really should be avoided when writing for an international audience.
DaDude
That is what Google is for if you don't know the meaning. I learned a lot of British English words from articles on this website.
FizzBit
Agree, hence the “angry overreaction” part.
Kabukilover
Besides tailgating, he threw an empty can at the lady’s car. That’s assault. Assault is, legally speaking, more serious than tailgating, which is serious enough. Does this guy handle guns as part of his job. If so, I’d worry.
Do the hustle
FizzBitt - There is no excuse for being an a-hole on the road.
M3M3M3
Why not just say he was arrested for driving dangerously close to another vehicle? Tailgate is an Americanism that isn't going to be understood by half of your international readers.
FizzBit
Angry overreaction on his part but I can understand his frustration when idiot drivers, whether in the fast or slow lane, won’t go with the flow of traffic. My favorite is when I see drivers stop at an entrance ramp on a highway or the interchange.
trinklets2
Some do want to be a member of certain organizations not to glorify but to disgrace them. A form of sabotage or just an emotionally imbalanced.
Concerned Citizen
Revoke his license.
jcapan
For some, the uniform can't mask inherent cowardice.