15-year-old girl killed after moped collides with truck

Feel sorry for the girl and may you rest in peace...but I am thinking the young boy may be at fault, of course it is always the guy in the bigger vehicles fault, but with little detail, who knows.

More info on this one needed before comments can flood in. BUT if the 17 year old and 15 year old were riding a deafening type of moped with their helmets nowhere to be seen we can kinda guess who ran the red lights. But like i said more info needed.

Was the girl wearing a helmet, I meaning wearing and helmet and not just balancing one on her head for effect?

I feel sorry for the girl & her family to relatives & close friends. Still if both were riding a moped without even proper head protetion then there is the problem. Even with a helmet one should be with eye protction as well.

As who was in the wrong well teeners in all countries tend to be novices when it comes to so many things which also means being on the roads of the continual traffic.

They're ALL at fault, including the parents of these kids, for letting them right 2-wheeled motorized vehicles in Japan...

Kids under 18, shouldn't be riding anything without pedals, it's not a question of "IF" you will have an accident, but only "WHEN!"

Just look at the stats....

It doesn't matter How Good of a rider you are, it's the other guy or women driving the car or truck, and kids don't have enough experience to be on the road.

I feel sorry for the girl, because her parent's let her ride around on the back idiot's bike! I hope he's stuck with bill! BAD PARENTS!

someone ran a red light here. The consequences were terrible. I really think there needs to be tougher punishment for running red lights. It just seems way to acceptable right now. Ive seen police stood at crossings whilst cars speed through red lights and they dont seem to care. Stick a few TV cameras at lights and have a spot 200,000 yen fine for anyone running a red. That should reduce these kind of horrible accidents.

I guess the unfortunate couple never took the "Stop Two People Riding" signs in front of police boxes seriously.

I really think there needs to be tougher punishment for running red lights. It just seems way to acceptable right now. Ive seen police stood at crossings whilst cars speed through red lights and they dont seem to care. Stick a few TV cameras at lights and have a spot 200,000 yen fine for anyone running a red.

This is absolutely true. I see it every single day, and in fact I was honked at just last week for NOT running a red light when the guy behind me wanted to!!! There don`t seem to be any cameras on lights here, and what a great source of income it would be for the government - maybe help fix their child allowance problem??!

mindovermatter - I agree with you in theory IF they let her ride the moped - but Im wondering if they even knew? Im thinking a 15 year old girl and her 17 year old boyfriend which she may well have kept from her parents. My parents were excellent, but I remember being 15 and keeping a lot of stuff from them!

If the moped had the turning arrow then the truck driver is at fault. Perhaps he tried to run the light. Something that is quite common in Japan. If the moped made the turn on a green without the arrow then the moped driver is at fault. Hopefully there are some trustworthy witnesses. If it was one these bosazoku`s...well...they are always running lights anyway. Getting hit is bound to happen.

what a great source of income it would be for the government - maybe help fix their child allowance problem??!

let's not stop there, stricter enforcement of all traffic laws is needed. including against mopeds, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians. one of the big problems is that they have laws on the books but only enforce them selectively when it suits them like during traffic safety weeks.

Just look at the stats....

What are the stats? I haven't seen them.

It doesn't matter How Good of a rider you are, it's the other guy or women driving the car or truck, and kids don't have enough experience to be on the road.

Yes, but you only get experience by driving. Every driver is an inexperienced driver at some point.

Sad story, though.

it's illegal to ride two on a moped. RIP girl, let's hope the cops will do their job properly

15-year-old girls do this all the time. It is to be expected.

Sad story indeed. If indeed it was a moped then it is unlikely to have had 2 seats. But, as has been said, not enough information to judge who was at fault or what exactly happened. Depending on the junction, a small bike should have been making a "Melbourne turn" perhaps?

Depending on the color of the plate, most mopeds are not suppose to have two people on them. I am sure their helmets were dangling back over their neck, number plate folded up, holes punched in the muffler, and cigs hanging from their mouths. Probably just came off of a one way street too. I am glad the guy in the truck at least stopped.

If it was a 50cc it is in fact illegal to make a right turn at a big intersection. The stats (at the driving lecture they show you) show that it is very dangerous.

The poor timing of lights changing from green to orange to red is a problem. Sometimes they change very fast - too fast for the speed limit of that particular road, and other times there is ample time, it's no wonder people fly through them sometimes.

pathat:I guess the unfortunate couple never took the "Stop Two People Riding" signs in front of police boxes seriously.

Are you going to say that the accident would not have happened if they had been riding single? I can't imagine how that would have prevented the accident.

Agree with other commentators, not enough detail. Sad about the girl, but if they were riding double on a moped made for one, it doesn't matter if the truck driver was at fault, they were wrong to do so. Stricter enforcement of ALL laws in Japan would be good, but then officers would have to put down their katsudon and go on patrol. I am joking of course, I know that there are a lot of hard-working police officers out there, but just walking around and seeing violation after violation on the roads, I get a little frustrated with the police.

Are you going to say that the accident would not have happened if they had been riding single? I can't imagine how that would have prevented the accident.

It might not have prevented the accident. However, if he had been riding single, both would be alive today, instead of just the boy.

If it's a question of the light JUST changing, then my guess is they are both at fault. However, my bet is that the truck tried to barrel, as they often do, through the light after it had just turned red. It wasn't just starting to accelerate to go through a newly turned green, was it? And I doubt it was barrelling down the street hoping the light was GOING to turn green at any moment. Nope, my bet is that the kids on the bike made the turn on a fresh green while the truck tried to beat the red. There needs to be ZERO tolerance on people who run reds, and more emphasis on stopping for a yellow. Yellow does NOT men speed up... it means CAUTION.

"If it was a 50cc it is in fact illegal to make a right turn at a big intersection. The stats (at the driving lecture they show you) show that it is very dangerous."

Jyanken, you are correct. NIDAN HOUDO. It is required for any two wheeled vehicle that is 50cc or less at any intersection with two lanes going either way.

FWIW: I got hit years ago going STRAIGHT through an intersection while an oncoming car turned into me. Just as dangerous. Getting hit by any vehicle while riding a 50cc bike is not fun.

I am betting that these two either had no helmets, or those dumb baseball cap type ones. Very sad, but there it is. Life is a bowl of cherries until you mess up your face or lose your life.

Here is a young man who will be screwed up for this life and the next one.

r.i.p.. this happened to the best-friend of one of my japanese friends. very sad for all involved, especially the parents.

It might not have prevented the accident. However, if he had been riding single, both would be alive today, instead of just the boy.

Would you say the same thing if they were in a car? Are you going to advocate riding single in cars too? If riding double on the bike did not cause the accident, or if it did not impede avoidance of the accident, its just not worth mentioning.

r.i.p.

2 wheels will always lose in collision with 4 wheels - i have too much experience of this.

All riders please ride defensively, and assume everyone else on the road is an idiot.

I hope we all get home safe tonight, but i know this will not happen.

In Japan in 1996 there were 9,942 fatalities due to car accidents. (http://www.factbook.net/EGRF_Regional_analyses_HMCs.htm)

numbskull, we don't know if riding double caused the accident or not. Riding double on a scooter built for a single rider does affect steering and balance, so until more information comes out about the cause, it is worth mentioning. Your car analogy is moot, as cars are usually built for more than one rider.

aw this is sad

6,023 road 'accident' fatalities in Japan in 2008

There shold be approximately 20 stories like this every day. Over 100 people dying every week.

But if a newspaper reported this truth... no more car industry adverts.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/Press/PDFs/2009-07-22IRTAD.pdf

All riders please ride defensively, and assume everyone else on the road is an idiot.

I second that. Having been on tokyo roads for over 7 years, you must assume that someone is gonna do something stupid or selfish or both. happens every day. running red lights is most prevalent, followed by pulling out whilst ONLY LOOKING ONE WAY usually not in the direction that traffic is coming from.

All riders please ride defensively, and assume everyone else on the road is an idiot.

Amen to that advice brother. I worked through a casualty rotation many years ago at a major Australian hospital, some of the injuries I saw really shook me. Please if you are going to ride a motorbike (or bicycle for that matter) take heed of Anthony's advice and assume that everybody else on the road is an idiot.

terebiko at 01:46 PM JST - 19th November

numbskull, we don't know if riding double caused the accident or not.

This is true. But I have serious doubts that it is.

Riding double on a scooter built for a single rider does affect steering and balance,

This is true too. But does it cause so much effect that it causes accidents such as this? I doubt it.

so until more information comes out about the cause, it is worth mentioning.

I did not say it was not worth mentioning. I said it is if it caused the accident or impeded avoidance of the accident. Please read carefully.

Your car analogy is moot, as cars are usually built for more than one rider.

Its only moot if riding double caused the accident or prevented avoidance of the accident. Again, I seriously doubt it. If it didn't then its like saying Sally would not have died if she had never got in the car with Tom. Probably true but of no practical value whatsoever.

There ARE big fines for running reds.

My girlfriend got stung with a 400,000yen fine a few months ago, and she wasn't even involved in a direct collision.

Numbskull, if the bike was a 50cc scooter (as it almost certainly was in light of the fact that this kid was only 17) then the brakes would not work with two passengers nor would it be able to accelerate fast enough to get out of the way of oncoming traffic. I've been riding bikes from 50cc to 1050cc for the last 20 years. Overloading a bike will result in avoidable accidents. It's sad that this type of accident keeps happening. It's not the first time a young man makes a bad decision on a bike and it won't be the last.

I think the truck was at fault just by the fact that the scooter with 4 people would still get threw the intersection faster than a truck from a standstill. Like posted above I think the truck was in motion illegally past the red or before the green.

PS yellow in japan means 5 more.

and believe either the truck driver or the two riders illegally crossed through the traffic signal.

wow...narrowed the choices down that quickly, huh ? investigative geniuses

in japan, whether you're driving, riding, or walking, always wait 3 beats before moving forward after the signals change, because EVERY japanese driver runs red lights

Sad about the girl for sure. Some mentioned defensive driving, that needs to apply to ALL drivers whether 2 or 4wheeled! Another pointed out the short duration of yellow lights, this is absiolutely true at many intersections, I have flet like I saw Xmas lights as I watch green yellow then red before I get through some intersections, so MAYBE the 1st driver cudnt help it but there is way to often a bunch more who run the red.

Biggest problem is the keystone arent into preventative policing only reactionary, ie they dont ticket drivers for any violations excedpt on rare occasions, the keystones mostly wait for accidents to happen then respond. I have stopped at 2 accidents & at neither were the keystones even remotely interested in what I had seen, so the mrs points out that thats why japanese rarely stop at accidents because they just end up in the way.........

Big truck vs. tiny moped is certain death for moped rider/s. Very simple, the 17 year old boy is just lucky to be alive, too bad about his dead 15 year old girlfriend. RIP.

Teenagers doubling on a scooter + Kamikaze truck driver = death

Pretty easy math. No surprises here. The only surprise is, it doesn't happen more often cos the cops do bugger all to prevent it.

For the author: A 'moped' is a motorized bicycle that has pedals to start the engine and I have never seen one in Japan. Whereas, the vehicle they were riding is simply called 'death on two wheels'.

believe either the truck driver or the two riders illegally crossed through the traffic signal.

Another dose of investigative genius from the keystones. Either one party in the accident or the only other party. And here was me thinking it was the work of The Riddler.

Why do they bother with these futile, vacuous statements at all?

R.I.P. to the poor girl. Children should NOT be allowed on motorbikes here - it's not Thailand for God's sake.

There does seem to be a culture of running red lights in Japan. I think most people in Japan know that when the light just turned green there's always some guy racing by at a ridiculous speed because his light just turned red. It seemed this time it was a truck driver. Poor kids.

more than 1 on a 50cc scooter is illegal in Japan.

truck driver probably druged up to his eyeballs.

not a good result

There does seem to be a culture of running red lights in Japan.

Too true. Something needs to be done about this - I never go a day here without seeing people running reds at insane speeds. Japanese authorities should study and adopt the system we have in Sydney, and other cities in Aus: Run a red light - get a photo automatically taken and a big penalty and fine in the mail a week later. Japanese people would be outraged - but it saves lives.

Yep, it galls me to find myself run through a yellow as it appears and watch the next three drivers behind me follow through the ensuing red.

If they're lucky, there's a security camera nearby that caught the accident on tape. All this guessing about who ran the light is pointless without facts.

I'm willing to bet that the kid turned into traffic without looking. I've seen it all too often. The truck driver also was probably going too fast also but we shouldn't expect heavy trucks to be able to stop on a dime either. It's called defensive driving to watch out for things like that but like I said, few do. Forethought doesn't exist here. Only the 後の祭り.

thundercat: Numbskull, if the bike was a 50cc scooter (as it almost certainly was in light of the fact that this kid was only 17) then the brakes would not work with two passengers nor would it be able to accelerate fast enough to get out of the way of oncoming traffic.

True that accelation and braking speed would be affected, but not so much that it really caused this particular accident or made it unavoidable I think.

As for being able to accelerate enough to avoid the accident, are you joking? The thing is under 50cc. Its not going accelerate fast enough to avoid death with even one single 70 pound weakling on it! And it does not appear that they overshot the stoplight for lack of braking power. They were turning right. Even overloaded, if accidentally passed the stop line so much that the driver decided he better just continue on and make a right turn, he was going way too fast regardless. I have driven overloaded vehicles before. You learn to deal with it. If you can't and you speed that much, you are an accident waiting to happen in optimal conditions anyway.