Job Discussion Forums

[tanuki]

This story WOULD be funny if I didn't live in mecha-mecha rural Shikoku and weren't confronted daily with the erratic bumblings of one-foot-in-the-grave oojisan commandeering k-trucks up and down perilous mountain roads with less than scant regard for indicators or reasonable braking distances or, indeed, any other forms of advance warning signals to fellow road-users...



http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080318/lf_nm_life/japan_elderly_drivers_dc

I haven't been to Tokyo (other than a swift passing-through gawk when I first arrived). How bad IS it?

Any good stories?

Tanuki

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http://www.eflteachertraining.com

[ripslyme]

It's about as bad as driving in other big cities around the world, except for national holidays when it's considerably worse. I have a story, but not a Tokyo one. I met some friends in Osaka to go skiing during a national holiday. Unbeknown to me at the time, the rest of Osaka planned on going skiing too. I think it took us about 6-7 hours to get there. We managed to get in 8 hours on the slopes, then another 6-7 hours to get home. I was somewhat annoyed that the travel time was longer than ski time, but my Japanese friends seemed to be all "sho ga nai" about it. If they told me we would be in the car longer than we would be on the slopes, I would have passed on it.

A quick Tokyo story, but this could happen anywhere. I was with some ditzy Japanese girl and we got lost driving. She proceeded to follow her in-car navigation, sounds good. However, in doing so she completely disregarded the detour signs and flag waving man, so we ended up going the wrong way on a one way street. (I couldn't say a word as I was in complete shock that she blew by all of them. ) Fortunately no accident, but a bunch of angry people as we tried turn the car around (3-point turn? the street was so narrow it was more like a 17-point turn).

Oh wait, both of these stories have nothing to do with the elderly... gomen!

[southofreality]

Tokyo can be a difficult place to drive for people fully in control of their minds and bodies, let alone some old fart who can barely walk a straight line.