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A man riding a large motorcycle ran into two pedestrians in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Thursday night. The motorcyclist and the two pedestrians — a man and a woman — were all killed.
According to police, the accident occurred at around 11:30 p.m. on National Route 134, Fuji TV reported. Witnesses said the motorbike, which appeared to be speeding, hit the man, 49, and woman, 55, as they were crossing a street. The 38-year-old man riding the bike was flung several meters by the impact and hit a car.
All three were taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead early Friday morning. The driver of the car was not injured.
© Japan Today
24 Comments
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JeffLee
No mention of whether they were crossing at a marked pedestrian crossing, an intersection with traffic lights or simply darting across the road.
Antiquesaving
And what difference would that have made here?
Pedestrians and a Motorcycle!
No bicycles involved!
Sven Asai
Personally, I never trust anything that has less than three wheels and even more I distrust the ones who even consider ever using such a device.
rainyday
From Japanese news reports it seems pretty clear the pedestrians were not crossing at an intersection and were likely just darting across the road, there isn't an intersection anywhere near where the accident occurred:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPXx6Q3dGFY
rainyday
This was my first reaction too, but looking at footage from the scene its clear the accident happened on a pretty well built road that has wide sidewalks and proper barriers. In this case I think the accident was just the result of a deadly mix of pedestrians crossing without ensuring it was safe to do so, plus a motorcyclist speeding.
Thomas Tank
I still can't trust my nephew's tricycle.
garypen
Yup. Which is why the police here really need to enforce traffic laws more diligently, and both drivers and pedestrians need to be taught proper road safety.
When I was a child, there were constant PSA's on TV, posters in schools and libraries, and ads in children's magazines that taught us to look both ways before crossing, beware of turning vehicles, and "cross at the green, not in-between".
Obviously, that last one is pretty difficult to follow in Japan. But, due diligence and heightened awareness needs to be practiced at a much higher level than is currently being done, by both pedestrians and cyclists. It's as if they don't understand that 2 tons of steel careening down a street doesn't care who has the right of way when it slams into them.
I think I've only seen a driver stopped for speeding once here. And, that was on the Expressway, not city streets. And not once for blowing through a red light. But, I've seen scooters stopped a few times for breaking the ludicrous right turn law. Priorities, right?
Mr Kipling
11:30 pm...... pub kicking out time? Crossed the road with out looking/thinking? Speeding motorcycle didn'd see them????
timeon
Fujisawa is a nice area for motorcycle rides, but at night it is pitch dark. Motorcycles have weaker lights than a car, and if two people dart across the street in the dark, it is very dangerous. Deadly if you are speeding.
Zushirezi
I live on a hill above the 134. Almost every night it sounds like bozos on big bikes using it as a speedway track until the early hours. Every weekend, too. Guess the cops don't like hanging out on coastal routes around midnight. Much easier to hide behind corners in the city during the day & bust car drivers that haven't properly stopped @ train crossings.
kurisupisu
Japanese pedestrians think that cars and motorcycles will automatically stop for them but sometimes they don’t.
Pedestrians in the UK are much more wary crossing the road and are right to do so.
Kwakkers
Sad this happened at all.
I can imagine this happened either because the pedestrians were darting over the road, or the biker blasted through a red light, but the news video looks like it was just before a junction, not after one.
That road also has proper separated pavements/sidewalks with a fence between the pedestrians and the road.
On that stretch, on one side of the road is the ocean and the other side is a park and residential area, so the pedestrians may have been going for a late night beach party.
That road is also stupidly popular for the annoying noisy Bousouzoku bike groups.
But that bike didn't match their usual style so a one of guy. So I don't think Bousouzoku are relevant.
Bjorn Tomention
Pedestrians wandering about like lost cattle no idea about the reality of traffic and the fact they are on the roadway...........how they were taught by their parents and so forth, no road sense at all.
Bjorn Tomention
Tokyo-mToday 05:40 pm JST
Time people took responsibility for their own safety and acted in a responsible manner instead of blame shifting to some one else.
Many pedsetrians and cyclists just simply dart out across the road thinking they are bullet proof becuase the law protects them because, well they are vulnerable.
Where as in reality if you dont check the way is clear before stepping out you may get literally run flat by a speeding bike or car or concrete mixer, take your own safety as your own responsibility and stop putting it on others, look before you leap used to be an old saying once.
Guy and his girl wernt paying attention obvioulsy and darting out in front of a speeding bike, sure bike shouldnt have been speeding but it was...................take care before stepping out FFS
yokohamarides
This was a crash caused by recklessness- not an accident.
Desert Tortoise
Does anybody know what the speed limit is on this section of road?
Yohan
Japanese streets are often very dark past 09:00 PM when most shops are closed. Going out for a walk in my area during night I am always using a reflective yellow band and have a torch light with me to be seen by drivers, and most people living around my place and are still out during night by feet are doing the same.
My motorcycle has very strong lights, but riding during night I am very careful, never speeding, it is dangerous.
I used this national road 134 in Fujizawa while I was still living in Tokyo. It is really a wide street with pedestrian walks on both sides. No pedestrian should be on the road, but you never know what might happen.
Some information missing, not clear where this accident exactly took place.
There are many fences in the middle and on both sides of this national road 134 preventing pedestrians to cross the street.
Road 134 is known for crazy people in a group who enjoy speeding with their cars and riding their noisy motorcycles with illegal mufflers and ignore any traffic signals during night. No police to stop them.
Yohan
As far as I know while I was still living in Tokyo, and as I can see now on the Google View map, it is 50.
I don't think it is any section where the speed limit is higher than that.
Desert Tortoise
I just Google Mapped it using Street View. Lots and lots of signs but not a single speed limit. In a car or motorcycle on a road like that I would probably end up driving 70 kph unless I exercised a lot of adult restraint, or there was photo radar. Hitting two pedestrians on that road even at 50 kph would be enough to cause a bike to crash. Looking at all the concrete posts, guardrails and that four strand wire barrier down the middle it would be pretty easy to suffer fatal injuries crashing a bike there. In fact seeing that wire barrier gave me the willies. Hitting that on a bike would be instant death even with a helmet and armored riding suit just from internal injuries. I can also see how a motorist would be taken by surprise by someone trying to cross that road outside of the signaled intersections.
Lee
Sven Asai. But do you describe yourself as tolerant ?
Desert Tortoise
Lol. Svens head would explode if he saw my garage and the six big motorcycles inside it including one with over half a million kilometers on the odometer. That bike is almost 37 years old now and has turned a tire on 11 foreign countries plus much of my own. Still ride it daily. Riding is a way of life and the best way to get around in urban traffic. That 37 yo bike is like an extension of my mind. We've been a lot of places together and survived many challenges on the road including snow storms.