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4 women injured after car hits them in Sakai

11 Comments

Four women were injured when they were hit by a car in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture on Sunday night.

According to police, the incident occurred on a narrow road in Chuo Ward at around 8:15 p.m. Fuji TV reported that the women were making their way along the road which has no sidewalk when they were hit from behind by a car driven by a 72-year-old man.

Police said a 29-year-old woman suffered a fractured skull, while the other three women, one aged 24 and the other two aged 49, suffered light injuries. The driver was quoted by police as saying he took his eyes off the road for a second and didn't see the pedestrians.

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11 Comments
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The guy had no business driving if he couldn't pay attention to the road -- and how did he miss four pedestrians?? Hope the women recover completely and the man is stripped of his license once and for all.

-2 ( +0 / -3 )

he took his eyes off the road for a second and didn’t see the pedestrians

And he was listening to Corey Hart; I wear my sunglasses at night.

Get better soon ladies. And I hope you were wearing reflecting clothes.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

If you are driving these narrow roads in Japan without sidewalks, you have to be extremely careful for pedestrians. They are practically walking in the road. So unfortunate...I hope these ladies recover quickly.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Get better soon ladies. And I hope you were wearing reflecting clothes.

What the heck does reflective clothing have to do with anything?

Even if they were, if the driver wasn't looking at the road, it would have been useless. They were hit from behind too, and had no way to avoid this accident.

Pedestrians, while walking, should of course be wary of drivers, however the onus is on the driver to NOT hit people - not the other way around.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Glad some of the posters would not be on a jury for this. Because the article does not say the driver was not looking, it says "he took his eyes off the road for a second and didn’t see the pedestrians." If you do drive, you have done the same thing many times, change the radio station, reach for something a drink, snack, talking to someone in the car. All these things take your eyes off the road for only seconds. The bad part in this story is the man hit people when he did. Not looking implies that the man was driving carelessly on the road not looking way he was going.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

cant see, cant drive, why does he have a license?

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

What the heck does reflective clothing have to do with anything?

Well, if four people are walking at night on a narrow road, it would be a very good safety procedure to wear reflective clothing, don't you think? If they had, (and again, we don't know if they were so it is just a conjecture to answer your 'What the heck" comment) the driver might have seen them much earlier than if they hadn't been wearing any.

In my area, many people like to walk their dogs without any reflective clothing, wearing really dark clothes and it is really tough to see them at night.

the onus is on the driver to NOT hit people - not the other way around.

Agreed, so why are you so bothered about my 'hoping' they were wearing reflective clothing?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

In a group discussion about the "shaken" in Japan, Japanese believe its for safety. To a certain degree that's true but it's not the car itself that is the safety problem but the driver. Japanese drivers, talk on cell phones, are distracted with TVs on their dashboards, speed and run red lights. The old guy who hit those ladies may have been a "Gold" license carrier for all we know. And that's another thing to discuss. Hope the ladies recover soon.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Well, if four people are walking at night on a narrow road, it would be a very good safety procedure to wear reflective clothing, don't you think? If they had, (and again, we don't know if they were so it is just a conjecture to answer your 'What the heck" comment) the driver might have seen them much earlier than if they hadn't been wearing any.

Yes ... he might have seen them, IF he had been looking at the road.

BUT he wasnt. so you cant really blame them. It was his fault entirely.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yes ... he might have seen them, IF he had been looking at the road

He was looking at the road, all but ONE second. At night it is sometimes impossible to see people crossing, or walking by the side of the road.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsTAwuuL9BE&feature=player_embedded

Did you see the guys who were not wearing reflectors? Neither did I.

All I am going to say about that one. Good luck to all concerned and Odaijini.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Do you really believe he "took his eyes off the road for a second?"

I know it is entirely possible he did do that, and that maybe he is Japans best driver who JUST made a mistake, however (If you live in Japan) you just have to look around - you will see drivers texting, speaking on the phone, watching tv or lighting cigarettes while driving on a very frequent basis. He was probably racing down the road at ridiculous speeds, meaning it was impossible to see them when he wasn't looking. I hope the police investigate this.

Men of this age are notoriously bad drivers. Which is why I don't believe him. IF he had been looking the road for that one second, he would not have hit them. That is the end of the story. My thoughts are with these women who were innocently run over, and I hope they recover soon.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

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