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© 2017 AFPGo-kart drivers must wear seat belts under new rules
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© 2017 AFP
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Dan Lewis
Not sure a seatbelt is going to make any difference in an accident - but I suspect that's not the reason behind this move.
Goodlucktoyou
Good news
gogogo
So it will be ATV's and not gocarts... seat belts wont work, you need to enforce helmets first.
sourpuss
I can just imagine one of these pulls up next to my front left tire, and, not being able to see them as I change lanes, I run right over them.
Stupidity
papigiulio
Yeah I also think helmets have more use than seatbelts. Are helmets not mandatory like on scooters? Other than that perhaps a small flag at the end of a antenna on the back so that they are more visible? I mean is it that hard to come up with good ideas to make this safer?
Dan Lewis
Helmets are not required for anything with more than 2 wheels. Have you seen those crazy motorcycle-tricycles around? No helmets required. No seat belts either.
But a flag on an antenna would make a big difference in visibility!
pacint
Helmets are only required for powered two-wheelers.
You can drive a Trike without Helmet on a car drivers licence.
FizzBit
You should be able to hear that 4-stroke engine pretty easily unless your jammin your One Direction to loud.
kohakuebisu
If it takes a "few years" to address a simple issue like this....
extanker
I thought the there was already a law that required them to have tall flags so cars could see them? (I guess not though, according to that photo)
taj
The already have antenna with flags. The antenna light up at night. Surprisingly, they aren't much lower than a Mini Cooper. (Driving one, your eye level is very close to that of the driver of a mini.
What I find most surprising in this article is that there were only three accidents in the past year. I would have expected a higher number.
kohakuebisu
I remember reading that there were way more accidents than "three". Didn't a Korean girl crash one into a police box!?
M3M3M3
The authorities in Japan are always slow to regulate safety issues at first, but the minute someone dies you can be sure that everything will be shut down and banned completely.
itsonlyrocknroll
I see an investment opportunity for "Super Mario" themed coffins.
Only an matter of time before any one of these grinning 'certifiables' is scraped off the front a vehicle driven by one the 1.2 million elderly drivers, a proportion of which are as deaf as a post, have difficulty reading road signs from a meter away and 30,170 aged 75 or older showing signs of dementia mingling with buses, coaches, trams, and HGV.
afanofjapan
Absolutely incorrect. These mario-karts are classified as Mini-cars here, and they have specific rules: 50cc or less, max speed of 60km/h. They are not allowed on public highways, just like 50cc scooters are not allowed on highways. They are treated with the same rules as a motorized pushbike, hence the lack of seatbelt/helmet requirements.
As for the new laws, i guess it is inevitable, but will suck for those who actually use one of these mini-cars as they were intended - as a personal communting vehicle. It means they would have to have their cars modified.
I am sure i will get downvoted a bunch for this, but yet another cool japan-only thing ruined by the hoards of tourists and the people who choose to exploit these thigns
ClippetyClop
They should all be fitted with speakers blaring out the Mario tune on constant loop. If you can't make it safe, make it silly. And if the bosozoku can get away with causing a racket, surely Yoshi and Luigi can too.
ClippetyClop
I think they were talking about regular national roads, not expressways
Cricky
If you don't notice a large group of people in fancy dress and take note then the onus is on you. I'm sorry officer I failed to see 10+ people in fancy dress with flags and lights. Is that a truck? Or a bird? Maybe my sight is degraded, you're a Police officer? Why do you have wings?
Madden
Only a matter of time until someone is killed or a major accident occurs, to be honest I'm amazed it hasn't happened yet!
shogun36
How are those guys even in business after Nintendo sued them?
Yubaru
Guess what, it isn't just Tokyo! (again!)
Garthgoyle
Crazy, know. Nintendo lost the lawsuit.
extanker
The problem isn't the 10 people in costumes, its the 11th one, that snuck in and stopped right in front of your wheel below your sightline that you can't see.