2 dead, 7 injured after bus-car collision on expressway in central Japan

I presume that the bus was deviating from its lane (changing lanes?) so consequently hit the concrete divider head-on.

RIP to those who perished and best wishes on a full recovery to those who were injured.

And that the car was too close to avoid collision with the bus.

Looking closely at the front of the bus in the photo, it looks like it did indeed hit that divider head-on. It blew that orange attenuator apart, as well, which didn't seem to attenuate its velocity very much.

The inertia must've been huge. In addition to the driver, the dead passenger was probably also sitting in the front. It's a miracle that the seven injured passengers were not seriously hurt. That bus hit that divider hard.

The cause was most likely one of the following: The driver saw the exit late, and tried to make it to the ramp, but was too late. Or, the driver was sleepy, which is all too common with long distance bus and truck drivers, and drifted.

Japan's expressways scare the hell out of me.

And I have a 45 year driving record . No accidents

Drivers tailgate, lanes too narrow, speeding trucks ....its a nightmare.

I take car ferry's whenever possible and stick to back roads.

Everybody....just slow down

Japan's expressways scare the hell out of me.

I agree. In particular, expressway portions too narrow for a breakdown lane, as is the one in the photo above, are not only terrifying but dangerous. And we pay tolls for those.

Sometimes the space for merging onto highways is ridiculously short making you force your way making people angry. I've seen merging cars that had to come to a full stop to avoid crashing into the barrier. Then you have to gun it while cars are whizzing by at 100km/h.

I hope the hospitals didn’t refuse the victims because of positive covid test.

That's a vicious looking concrete divider.

I rarely use my ETC card, as I much prefer the clear, toll-free routes that Google finds for me.

The expressways are much too stressful an environment, and driver behaviour - my own included - can be abhorrent.

Bungle

If the bus had mounted the divider, it would have had its belly ripped - along with the diesel tanks.

But, diesel fuel is not normally flammable. At least, not at typical ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure. (It's "combustible", which requires higher temperatures.)

Perhaps the roadway blacktop was at an extreme temperature? Or, maybe it was also carrying another type of fuel for an onboard generator or something that caught fire first, then ignited the diesel?

GuruMick

Japan's expressways scare the hell out of me.

And I have a 45 year driving record . No accidents

Drivers tailgate, lanes too narrow, speeding trucks ....its a nightmare.

I take car ferry's whenever possible and stick to back roads.

Everybody....just slow down

I find the speed limits to be way too low on JP expressways. 80kph is only 50mph. 100kph is a mere 62mph. But, i spent 20 years driving on California freeways before moving to Japan. (And, 20 years on NYC area highways before that.) So, the 60-80kph speed limits that are typical on JP expressways feel pretty slow to me.

Yes, the lanes can be a bit narrow here, depending on the expressway. And, shoulders are practically non-existent. And, don't get me started on the ridiculous interchanges with their numerous last-second forks and multiple confusing ramps. But, other than the occasional butthead driver (usually in a Porsche or Lexus, I've noticed), most people don't need to slow down.

Mickelicious

I rarely use my ETC card, as I much prefer the clear, toll-free routes that Google finds for me.

The expressways are much too stressful an environment, and driver behaviour - my own included - can be abhorrent.

I use my ETC card all the time. I hate most of the side roads here, especially some of the goofy ones Google Maps sends me on. Tiny, winding, two-way roads that are barely wide enough for one-way traffic, with utility poles on the roadway, no sidewalks, and those damn rain trenches.

FYI, the ETC system has a miles reward system, similar to the many point systems you find here. You just have to register at smile-etc.jp. I've accumulated a number of 5000y rewards. It almost makes up for the ridiculously high tolls. Almost.

Japan's expressways scare the hell out of me.

I actually find that drivers in Japan drive much slower than in Europe or America so I feel safer on the expressway itself. Its actually getting off the expressway and through the ETC or (in my case) the non-ETC lane. I mean, its just a free-for-all where you have to cut across multiple lanes in order to get into the correct lane. Almost got hit by a truck in Ishikawa last week. Its nuts!

I honestly feel its time for Japan to get rid of toll roads and just charge every driver a few mon on their insurance instead. You would probably see way more travel and tax revenue.

The most frightening road I've ever driven in my life is the Fukuoka Urban Expressway. It is two-lane with no shoulders and sound barriers on either side so there are no visual cues. It is windy and undulating with entrances and exists on both the left and right. It is so scary it was made into a video game (Google it). If the surface streets were not so packed, I'd never use it, but I'll risk my life to save the extra hour it would take to drive surface streets from Hakata to the Kyushu Expressway entrance.

That “Divider” could literally slice the bus is two, and certainly not enough space to put safety barriers in front of it. Remember the student skiers not too long ago?

This happens all too often. R I P

What a wreck! I hope the victims get a speedy recovery. I use that expressway when in Nagoya and although it is fun to drive in a sports car due to its numerous sharp bends, it is not for the faint-hearted.

Japan's expressways scare the hell out of me.

Then never ever drive in a 3rd. world country, you'll have a heart attack.

Expressways in cities are narrow, specially the feeling is increased with the walls on the road side.

The Shutoko is particularly dangerous. for merging. I go through, from prefecture to prefecture and do not have to worry for entry merging, just keeping my line

Lithium ion batteries on board the bus (or some other explosive material) a possible cause of the explosions? Diesel doesn't explode like that.

Japan's expressways scare the hell out of me.

I wouldn't go that far but they do require concentration at times! The stretch of the Meishin / Sanyo between Nagoya and Kobe seems to be full of lunatics whenever I venture there. I've also heard that Nagoya drivers are considered the most impolite in the country, although I'm going for Fukui on that.

I'm still of the opinion that any traffic jams on toll roads should mean that the road becomes toll free for that journey.

Could be Meitetsu bus?

But, diesel fuel is not normally flammable.

Sigh. The liquid is not what burns. It is the vapors that ignite. The warmer the fuel is, the more vapors are coming off it. Airport fire departments have old wrecks somewhere on the airport they pour some diesel fuel on and ignite for firefighting practice. We also used diesel for firefighting practice in Navy firefighting school and buddy that stuff burns hot! When you have a bus hitting a solid object at expressway speeds there are enough sparks and hot metal to light that fuel off. You also had a car involved in the crash. It looks like the bus tipped over on a car, the driver of which probably never thought the bus was going to come over on it.

And before someone says it, diesel fuel has to be atomized into a fine spray at really high pressures by the fuel injectors to burn in the combustion chamber of the engine.

That an express way,most Americans highway,have a two lanes going in both directions and have shoulders,in each sides,at least 50 wide ,this a monsterous road in Houston area Google Beltway 8

Japanese expressways are like a mad computer game. Many extremely short merging lanes with poor visibility. My favorite is when the exit/merging lane is on the right (in the middle), that I never experienced before.

Also Japanese truck drivers are the worst. They pummel through traffic carelessly, way over their speed limit; those scare the sh*t out of me.

In Houston it common for large spool of cable,that fall off trucks,and roll down the highway and crash into people cars

The roads and driving is dangerous. One of the most dangerous things people do in their lives on a daily basis. Be careful out there.

RIP…

That an express way,most Americans highway,have a two lanes going in both directions and have shoulders,in each sides,at least 50 wide ,this a monsterous road in Houston area Google Beltway 8

Newer freeways yes, but I can show you freeways built in the early 1950s where the state has squeezed four lanes in each direction on pavement designed for three lane by using some of the breakdown lane on each side and the center divider is right there. So are the bridge rails. Off ramps go from freeway speed down to a 25 mph curve with very little room to decelerate. Trying to negotiate tight on and off ramps pulling a 48 or 53 foot semi on ramps designed when the longest semi-trailer was 40 feet requires concentration too.

> MickeliciousAug. 22  06:58 pm JST

That's a vicious looking concrete divider.

DAMN!