One boy and two girls, all aged 16, were killed when the car they were in crashed head-on with a truck in Shikokuchuo City, Ehime Prefecture, on Tuesday night.
According to police, the accident occurred at around 9:20 p.m. Fuji TV reported that it was raining at the time and that the crash occurred where the road curved.
The driver of the car was an 18-year-old boy who survived the crash but sustained light injuries. Police quoted him as saying the car drifted over the center line into the path of the oncoming truck.
The 30-year-old driver of the truck was not injured.
Police said the four in the car were on their way to Matsuyama City in Ehime Prefecture from Kagawa Prefecture when the accident occurred.
© Japan Today
26 Comments
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TeaTeaTea
Time and again I have been in cars with Japanese people in their mid-20s and they laugh when I put on my seat belt.
SweetPretzels15
Gone just like that. My heart goes out to all the families.
SenseNotSoCommon
When I renewed my licence, the cop lecturing us said rear seat belts were only needed on highways.
papigiulio
Who said noone was wearing seatbelts? You can wear seatbelts all you want in a keicar (assuming it was a keicar btw), a frontal against a truck you dont stand a chance.
TeaTeaTea
No one did, I was simply hijacking this article to really talk about my love for seat belts. Its a disease.
DongHungLo
Driving too fast in rainy conditions leads to disaster. See it everytime it rains here. The worst are the taxi drivers. Speed limit is 40km/h, they easily double that in many instances I've seen. Very stressful when I have to walk along road with these bozos.
sakurala
Tea: Awesome response! I agree that it was probably a lack of seat belts. I am assuming the driver put on his seatbelt but the passengers sadly didn't. Another sad story of possibly preventable deaths.
smithinjapan
papigiulio: "You can wear seatbelts all you want in a keicar (assuming it was a keicar btw), a frontal against a truck you dont stand a chance."
Based on the time-honored tradition here of NOT wearing seat belts when you should. Time and time again it happens, and most people don't wear one (even in the front, despite it being law, and since there is no fine except on expressways), so it's easier to assume that's the case again here. What's more, for your theory to hold true the driver should be dead as well -- so I'm guessing HE wore a seat belt, and only him.
In any case, it's a tragic loss of three young lives. You have to wonder how it just swayed into oncoming traffic like that. They had to be doing something wrong.
nakanoguy01
if you collide head on to a truck, seatbelts ain't gonna save your life.
Commodore Shmidlap (Retired)
Just wear the seatbelts instead of trying to manufacture visions of the few times they won't save you.
turbotsat
Figures below are for only 30 mph.
Generally didn't see people in China wear seatbelts, even for their little kids. A baby in your arms is going to weigh 300 lbs in a crash at moderate speed, and even if you brought along Arnold Schwarzenegger to help you, he's going to be busy with his own problems.
http://buckleup.mt.gov/docs/three-collisions-in-crash.pdf
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/carcr2.html
wtfjapan
I was in a big accident Christmas eve 2004, my wife was in hospital for 4 weeks with broken ribs, i a cracked knee cap, bloody nose from hitting the steering wheel. the impact speed was about 130kph, our car 50kph oncoming car about 80kph, very similar to this accident other drive going too fast and veered into our lane. Other driver was also wearing a seat belt, he also had broken ribs collar bone. I can tell you without a doubt if either of us had not been wearing a seat belt wed be DEAD!. So take it from me wear your F seatbelts! sitting in the backseat is no excuse, the force of your body slamming into the passenger/driver in front will give them much greater internal injuries possible even killing them. Even one person not wearing a belt is dangerous, if the car rolls this person will fly around the vehicle injuring the passenger that are wearing them, see this for an example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcVSQh5MbTo
ebisen
Wtfjapan, glad you were wearing the seatbelts therefore lived to tell your story. To the idiots saying that seatbelts won't help, just shut up and don't spread your BS everywhere. Agreed k cars are more dangerous than normal vehicles, but seatbelts always help...how can you say there would be no difference ?
nakanoguy01
captain seatbelt, how is that even remotely related? the anti-vaxxer crowd mostly believe that vaccines can lead to autism and other illnesses, not that it can prevent TB, rubella and a host of other diseases. smh in wonder.
WA4TKG
When I / we lived in the USA; my daughter would AUTOMATICALLY put on her seat belt whenever she got in a / the car. After barely a year of my absence in her life, I came to Japan, and found she had STOPPED WEARING one. When I started taking her around, she again AUTOMATICALLY puts on her seat belt. It's SCARY to see people driving around in their cars with their KIDS hopping around the seats....omg.
Ian Robertson
More teens killed; how very sad.
nandakandamanda
Similar accidents have happened to teenage children of two friends of mine. Both teens died, though neither was in the driving seat.
This driver will carry the guilt of three lives for the rest of his life. So sad.
nath
Teenage drivers are a dangerous road hazard. 18 years old is too young to drive, fight in a war, smoke or drink alcohol.
scap
One thing I have seen more than once. Mother is driving with seat belt on; young child is standing in the front seat. Total lack of common sense.
AsianGaijinYesWeExist
Every passenger in the vehicle secured by a three point seat belt or car seat. No ifs, ends or buts. Why is this even up for debate?
I see lots of nonsense regarding seat belt use in third world countries, but having the same kind of mindset in Japan is frankly, quite shocking.
The greatest reason for death and serious injury in a collision is passengers being thrown out of the vehicle. If you can be kept in the vehicle despite the collision, you'll much more likely to survive. Guess which safety device does that?
PestController
I honestly haven't gotten into a car without wearing my seatbelt since I was a kid. It's just second nature, but then, I'm from the States, where there's fines if you don't wear one.
Hopefully young people will see this and realize that wearing a seatbelt can save your life. Seriously. It's not just there for show, and they don't conduct all those crash tests on vehicles for nothing. Airbags do help, but they're only a supplemental system.
Maybe if the Japanese government instituted fines for not wearing one in all situations, tragedies like this could be avoided. Something to ponder.
Hawkeye
Waste of young lives. Maybe the same weight sensor In the seat that enables airbag deployment for passengers linked with the seat belt being locked and tying in the ignition system which could be defeated like most safety systems but better than nothing.
A.N. Other
Hang on a minute... if the car crossed the center line, surely the truck would impact the driver's side first, and yet the driver escaped with barely a scratch... :/ ?
DaDude
Imported car?
GrungeHamster
It is scary, and quite sad. There was an unfortunate accident a few weeks ago where a 4 year-old was thrown from a vehicle because the car was over-packed and the child was seated on the mothers lap. Had the child been wearing a seat belt they would likely still be here today.
A.N. Other
Figures.
Gotta be yankis or bosozoku racing with with a modded Mercades or BMW.