Child in critical condition after elderly driver hits students in Shizuoka

The number of fatal motor accidents in Japan involving elderly drivers has been on the rise as the country's population is aging. 

We'll get more and more this kind of accident of the news, the one that happened in city center will get more coverage.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/05/18/national/crime-legal/police-grill-87-year-old-driver-tokyo-crash-left-mother-daughter-dead/

The number of fatal motor accidents in Japan involving elderly drivers has been on the rise as the country's population is aging. In response, police are calling on elderly people, especially those with a diminished capacity to drive, to voluntarily return their driver's licenses.

Such accidents will fortunately become less frequent with the improvement of autonomous vehicle technology — which today is far safer than an inexperienced, cognitively impaired, or distracted driver.

I see old people driving kei trucks with pedals to the floor all the time, regardless the road, most probably think accidents like this "won't happen to me". Japan is great for old people, they get to enjoy peaceful live in prison for snuffing out children's live. Government won't do anything, because they're the voters.

Did you see the road these poor kids are forced to walk on? About 3 feet of clearance with no sidewalk and blocked in by concrete wall beside a narrow two lane road.

so narrow, you can hardly open an umbrella."

So the driver's age has little to do with the incident, and more children shouldn't have been there.

I won't be surprised if the narrow road also has tall walls on each side with closer to no space separating them from the road. I've seen so many of those while driving in Japan.

Residents interviewed on NHK last night said the shoulder with no guardrail is so narrow that they are scared to walk on it. Why are school kids commuting on it?

The civil engineers who laid out this danger trap, school officials and parents seem to be more culpable than the driver.

It often seems to me like the roads here were built to maximize the risk of accidents. Roads just barely wide enough for one car, no sidewalks, walls blocking preventing you from seeing if there are cars coming the other way in intersections, road signs forcing pedestrians to walk on the road to get around, etc. I am terrified of the day my kids will walk to school on their own.

Not again.

Some people are still fine to drive at 75, but many aren't and shouldn't be on the road. However, in the countryside you generally need a car to do anything at all - even get to the nearest shop. Eventually, technology will provide the answer with regular drone deliveries, autonomous driving etc., but these things aren't quite there "yet."

In the meantime, I think more community support is the most reasonable answer. Exactly what's needed (and the staffing/taxation level) will depend on the region.

JeffLeeToday 08:43 am JST

The civil engineers who laid out this danger trap, school officials and parents seem to be more culpable than the driver.

The problem in many areas is that the houses have been around for way longer than cars. The road (originally dirt track) layouts may have been fine to begin with, but became more dangerous with the introduction of mechanized vehicles. You can't easily move people's houses now, so possibly the best solution in cases like this is to modify the school route: in that case, yes - the school officials are at fault here.

How many more innocent people must be seriously hurt and killed by old drivers before serious action is taken? Anyone above 62 should have mandatory annual health and vision screenings if they want to continue to drive. After 70 no one should be allowed to drive.

When you dedicate your whole society's infrastructure to the "mighty car companies" and their products, tragic incidents like this will inevitably happen. Japanese cities are neither bicycle-friendly, pedestrian-friendly or child-friendly.

You can see the accident site in this report.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20231026/k10014238351000.html

If kids were walking down it, it looks like an accident waiting to happen. A resident says many cars used the road as a short cut. If that was the case, it should have been made single lane one-way with a proper sidewalk, or the kids made to walk another route.

greying population they should put a age cap on drivers especially the old taxi drivers. They break every law when driving and love speeding because time is money

Having seen too many pictures of Japanese roads in cities and towns my only surprise is that this not happen more often. There seems to be very little thought given to pedestrians by both municipalities and drivers.

It often seems to me like the roads here were built to maximize the risk of accidents. Roads just barely wide enough for one car, no sidewalks, walls blocking preventing you from seeing if there are cars coming the other way in intersections, road signs forcing pedestrians to walk on the road to get around, etc. I am terrified of the day my kids will walk to school on their own.

You nailed it!

Road without guardrails. So your standard unsafe for pedestrians side road that is all over Japan. Combine that with Jiji who can't see where he's going and the road probably being barely over one lane wide and this is what happens.

Did you see the road these poor kids are forced to walk on? About 3 feet of clearance with no sidewalk and blocked in by concrete wall beside a narrow two lane road.

Yes. I saw the story this morning and this is exactly what I was thinking.

To allow young children to feel that it is safe to walk on a road where there is no sidewalk, curb or markings of any kind, then the blame should be directed towards the society that allows it to happen. Age may have played a part in the accident but when you see people after people using and watching their smartphones while driving, big trucks using narrow two-way single lane roads, it is anybody's guess as to who or what will cause this inevitable accident. As someone already stated it is an accident just waiting to happen.

S

Ego Sum Lux Mundi

Japanese cities are neither bicycle-friendly, pedestrian-friendly or child-friendly.

Nor car-friendly, other than expressways and a few main roads.

I wouldn't trust fully autonomous vehicles, either. They make plenty of errors, and are often confused by simple things a human can easily discern. However, the current safety systems employed in newer vehicles can definitely assist drivers to avoid these tragedies. There are, or were, government subsidies in place for over-65 drivers who purchase cars equipped with such systems, or retrofit them to existing models.

Personally, I think they should be mandatory as standard equipment on all new cars sold in Japan, not optional add-ons.

Absolutely nothing will come of this, sadly. What are they going to do, jail the 75-year-old for life? Oh, I'm sure he'll be ordered to pay compensation, but say he's just an old pensioner with little to no property or money? The family going to be made to pay for the man's accident? If so, that is grounds for Japan to make laws to stop legal driving at a certain age; why should everyone else pay for it?

Personally, I think they should be mandatory as standard equipment on all new cars sold in Japan, not optional add-ons.

They have been mandatory on Japanese cars since November 2021. All new imported models will have to have them from next June and currently produced imports will need such systems from June 2026.

The other side of the street looks like it has a lot more room. The kids should've been instructed not to walk on the side of the road they were walking on. Of course, the driver should've never veered off the road either.

I stopped driving because of this very thing. I'm not that old but I noticed a decline in my driving skills so I stopped. That being said, I know some friends who drive magnificently who are older than me. The suggestion that drivers should have to take a road test at 70 and above is the best answer. That is required here in the US. In many states. There is no 100% solution. Drivers here are responsible for many many such accidents. On one side or the other there should be guard rails for pedestrians. It's sad occurrence and city ordinances should be put in place to help stop this.

he was identified as having no issues with his cognitive function when tested during his license renewal early this year. Since he doesn’t have issues, it’s not really an accident. There are many people with mental abnormalities in Japan and it’s very likely he didn’t do all he can to avoid this so called accident. I don’t believe this being an accident.

MiuraAnjin

"Personally, I think they should be mandatory as standard equipment on all new cars sold in Japan, not optional add-ons."

They have been mandatory on Japanese cars since November 2021. 

Not exactly. Only basic systems have been mandatory. The full, sometimes referred to as "wide", systems are offered as premium optional features on many models.

But, if the full systems are being mandated to begin next year, that would be great. Your comment isn't clear. about what it is.