What measures should be taken to prevent accidents in which cars hit people walking along or waiting on the side of narrow roads?

suspend driving license and abolish suspended sentence.

Make vehicle only roads

Commonm sense from drivers and pedestrians? Perhaps those narrow roads around stations (Tamachi is a good example) be off limit to vehicles during commuter rush hours?

Actually I find the bikes more dangerous than the cars.

Guard rails.

A campaign needs to be created which pulls Japanese heads out of their own butts. The utter lack of moment to moment situational awareness in this country is a travesty, and at the root of a huge amount of these type of accidents. That campaign needs to be aimed at elementary school students, because for those older, it seems to be too late.

Next, the police need to start assigning blame where blame is due. This automatic blame the driver policy is cracked, and such policies help explain why the Japanese just shut down on situational awareness; why think so much if the other guy automatically wins? Pedestrians and bicyclists know they are practically invulnerable to blame while at the same time being stupidly unaware that when its them vs a car, they will lose on the road even if they win in court.

Last, police need to start a campaign making pedestrians and bicyclists aware of the new blame where blame is due policy and actually start giving warnings and tickets to insane pedestrians and cyclists. And I am not talking about careful jaywalking. I am talking about wearing dark clothes at night with no reflectors, no flashlight and walking along dark stretches of road. I am talking about darting out into traffic. I am talking about suicidal jaywalking from people who think the law giving them the right of way means cars can stop on a dime.

Just get Japanese drivers to obey the existing motorway code would surmise.

Last week a Japanese driver stopped as I waited by a pedestrian crossing. I nearly fainted, never happened before.

I'm sure most Japanese drivers think that those two diamonds ahead of a crossing (and are there to make the driver aware that they are nearing a pedestrian priority crossing) are just placed in the road to make the road look pretty.

However before people think that Japan has entered a new era of vehicular enlightenment with my experience last week, the car that stopped as I waited by a pedestrian crossing was a police car and I'm sure the driver, when off duty and in his own Honda Cubicle, would never think of doing something so unmanly as giving a pedestrian the right of way.

You know how when you get on the Tube in London, and a voice tells you to "mind the gap"? There need to be loudspeakers everywhere, and blare "Mind the road" whenever people activate a sensor in the ground, not unlike when you're walking past a parking lot with a car pulling out.

That way, Japanese could merrily go on their way and not have to think too much. That would be just dreadful.

When I first came here, I couldn't believe there were so few real "pavements". "The safety council would have a fit" I thought. Then I realised that most people actually have common sense built in here in Japan, so rather than needing a sign on train windows saying "don't stick your head out of the window, it will be chopped of by a train in the opposite direction", most people actually know that is a risk. The recent spate of accidents is tragic beyond belief, and perhaps a sign that people are getting a bit comfortable with the status quo, so perhaps it has become time for some "sleeping policemen" on the roads especially near schools, and without a doubt when there is no pavement near the school. Sad it is needed, but probably well overdue now.

Here in the sticks, the only thing that police look for is drivers without seatbelts buckled, ignored red light jumpers, speeders, cellphone use, etc. Enforcing existing traffic rules would go a long way toward creating a safer environment.

(Of course, in order to enforce speed limits, they have to put up realistic speed limit signs. Having a 50 kph limit on major commuting thoroughfares is simply asking for non-compliance.)

Don't blame everything on the driver of the cars. Blame the people that are walking. Some of the people that are walking are not aware of the surroundings. They cannot see. They need to walk safely within their boundaries. Especially young people, when they walk, they are multi-tasking by using cell phones, texting, and their little mind is constantly wondering. People need to stay focus on safety when you walk in public. On a busy intersections, they should install speeding and red light cameras to catch the violators.

One word E D U C A T I O N on road rules and road sense

Umm..stop allowing 2 way traffic through roads that weren't designed for cars? or even reform the existing eminent domain regime? nah that's too much to ask.

One word E D U C A T I O N on road rules and road sense

Totally agree.

Instead of the useless garbage kids are given, how about teaching them something useful? The rules of the road, road sense, why aren’t these things taught at schools?

speed bumps in small narrow roads

bicyclist driver's license - age 11 - 99 years old. Because we all have seen crazy bicyclists reading a book, staring down talking on the phone, carrying an umbrella, 5 abreast ( especially high school kids ) bicycle formation, and the 1# most famous bicyclist that never checks before leaping out with his bicycle in front of & sideways for incoming cars.

For one thing, there are still a lot of narrow roads with no sidewalk, specially in old towns and municipalities where houses' doorsteps are literally on the road's gutter, and some of the public utility infrastructures are on the road itself.

Also, the cyclists and pedestrians who are rushing to cross a narrow street without even bothering to check if there is a vehicle ... even on area with pedestrian traffic lights.

Fine the Bike Salmon-person who ride their bicycle against the flow of traffic. I've nearly hit some who ride around trucks parked along side the road. It's such a shock when suddenly these idiots appear right in front of you.