A head-on collision occurred Thursday morning on the Tohoku Expressway in Nasu-Shiobara City, Tochigi Prefecture, killing both drivers and injuring two children.
The accident occurred at around 6:30 a.m. on the outbound lanes, NHK reported. According to the police, a light car traveling the wrong way on the outbound lane of the expressway collided head-on with a passenger vehicle, killing both drivers and injuring two children in the passenger vehicle.
Both drivers were declared dead at the scene. A 9-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl, who were in the passenger vehicle, were taken to hospital. The extent of their injuries is unknown.
The scene was a nearly straight road with two lanes in each direction.
The police are trying to determine how the light car ended up traveling the wrong way.
After the accident, the outbound lanes between Nishinasuno-Shiobara Interchange and Kuroiso-Itamuro Interchange were closed until 11:30 a.m.
© Japan Today
18 Comments
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kurisupisu
Lack of highway driving experience and unfamiliarity with the area?
Lack of signage and road markings could be another factor…
Mr Kipling
I'm wondering about the age of the driver going the wrong way...
Daninthepan
Japan's abysmal road signs?
Mr Kipling
Tell us you have never driven on the expressway without telling us...
You would have to try very hard to enter the expressway on an exit and even harder not to notice your mistake as cars came towards you. It is usually someone who shouldn't be driving due to dementia etc.
Antiquesaving
Actually No! They have fairly good signs, far better than much of North America.
Lightup display noting traffic, delay time, exit congestion or closure, etc... speed limit changes are on led displays in the event of fog, rain, accidents, etc...
And for this simple reason how the Kei car driver didn't notice all the signs were backwards gives us a clue as to the possible cause.
1-) a deliberate act of murder suicide.
2-) someone that should have stopped driving due to age, eyesight, dementia, etc...a long time ago.
Antiquesaving
Well in most cases yes but in certain expressways the exits have no barriers only the exit and possibly an ETC scan .
The Tokyo Shuto is a prime example, the entrance you can go through with ETC or pay a cash flar fee but exit at any point along it without barriers.
So if someone runs up the off ramp in the wrong direction there is nothing to stop them
There are plenty of these flat rate expressways Tokyo Gaikan Expressway, Shuto, etc... are in theory single flat rate no barriers exits (varying rates if your car has ETC.
ClippetyClop
Right! It's not an easy thing to do, but the toll gate barriers aren't as rigid as you think. It is possible he could have barged through the out gate barrier.
Alternatively, he went through the correct gate, but then chose the wrong direction and just turned right when the on ramp met the expressway.
Interested to see exactly how it happened.
Antiquesaving
Obviously many here don't drive or drive very rarely.
sakurasuki
@Antiquesaving
It could be 2nd, especially after seeing the speed. If that driver motives is the first, then it already passed several cars before actually hits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TslXocgT2Kw
Also it's not first time wrong senior driver went wrong way in Japan and cause accident.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20221013/p2a/00m/0na/006000c
WoodyLee
""The police are trying to determine how the light car ended up traveling the wrong way.""
Simple, check the blood alcohol level first, if that was normal then the driver must decided to travel backward to get something he/she must have forgotten bcz. the next exist was just too for to drive to.
WoodyLee
This was a U Turn for sure, he/she did not enter the wrong way.
sakurasuki
@WoodyLee
You assume that there's an intact body, the problem fire already involved.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MziWnMNRAA
falseflagsteve
This is very sad and needs to be looked into to try to ensure there isn’t a repeat.
aaronagstring
The 10pm news is saying he u-turned. So sad for the innocent driver and kids. They will never be able to enjoy ‘natsu-yasumi’ ever again.
aaronagstring
Footage shows deliberate u-turn. What a pr%@k.
WA4TKG
Saw on tv, clearly age was a factor, how can you not see other cars coming straight at you in broad daylight
sakurasuki
Some recorder caught that driver doing U-turn deliberately, that car basically was in the same lane with victim car and suddenly U-Turn, which finally lead to crash.
Not only that other driver also already warn the driver but blinking the light, and that car reply with light and still continue.
https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp/news_society/articles/000366226.html