Job Discussion Forums

flyingkiwi

Tonight, I was on my bike, crossing at an intersection. I had the green light. Halfway across, and was almost hit by a car turning onto the road.

FFS, this almost happens to me every day. Drivers just don't seem to care about pedestrians or bikers crossing intersections when they are turning. It irritates me how it can be so dangerous and back home you can cross knowing cars will stop.

IMO, Japanese drivers just hate stopping for something or someone when they are driving. Look at pedestrian crossings: they are there for show only.

Anyone else experienced this?

gonzarelli · Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 12:49 pm Post subject:

I think this thread should be moved to the China forum.

southofreality · Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Posts: 579 Location: Tokyo

Khyron · Joined: 10 Mar 2006 Posts: 291 Location: Tokyo Metro City

vancouver_syndicate · Joined: 09 Sep 2004 Posts: 46 Location: Canada

never had that problem in tokyo. they always stopped. osaka was a different story

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

I have to cross quite a few intersections in central Tokyo on my way to work where both left turning cars and pedestrians have a green light. There are a lot of taxis in the area and they are least likely to give way so I always check very carefully what is coming before I step onto the road.

Compared to crossing the road in Ho Chi Minh city though (take a deep breath, walk slowly and let the traffic flow around you, watch out for trucks and deranged cyclo drivers), it's a breeze here.

flyingkiwi · Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 11:48 pm Post subject:

Wintermute · Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 79

It's happened to me a number of times. I've been using the crossing while the green light was on and had cars tear around the corner. Usually they are taxi drivers but I've had a few young people (i.e. yankees) do the same thing. In my experience Japanese drivers are thoughtless and selfish. Back home if there is a person waiting at a zebra crossing then the car will stop. Here though you can spend a good 5 - 10 minutes waiting for traffic to die down before you can cross. This is in Osaka by the way, capital for the worst drivers in Japan.

gonzarelli · Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 4:09 am Post subject:

SeasonedVet · Joined: 28 Aug 2006 Posts: 236 Location: Japan

flyingkiwi

flyingkiwi · Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 7:35 am Post subject:

Cheers.

I am aware that Japan is perhaps the saftest country to cross the street in Asia (Korea, anyone?), but still it is disgusting behaviour on the part of drivers, esp. when elementary school children are crossing the street. Makes me cringe just thinking about it.

In my city, I have noticed from time to time in the mornings traffic officers standing at intersections with whistles.

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan

Happens to me several times a day every single day. Pretty much guaranteed to happen crossing the street, drivers look only to make sure they won't be hit by another car, so they don't actually look to see if the intersection is clear. They press the gas, turn the wheel and then turn their head, or else just keep their head forward at all times so that they don't know about anything that isn't directly in front of the car (they can see the cars coming towards them, when there aren't any that means its time to press the accelerator as hard as you can, and crank the wheel. Looking at the intersection where they are intending to drive isn't part of it).

You have to just get used to always :
1. being aware that cars have the right of way because they have more power than you (you will die if it hits you, they will get a little scratch)
2. not looking at the car, but instead looking at the driver of the car to see if they are totally out of it.
3. accepting that you will very likely be killed one day because of a driver who was totally out of it, if you stay in this country for a long time.

flyingkiwi · Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 1:23 pm Post subject:

ironopolis · Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 379

Obviously Japan compares better with most of the rest of Asia on road safety, and considering its relative wealth it damn well should do.

However, I have a fair bit of sympathy with the OP's frustrations; firstly because I've had similar experiences myself (maybe not every day though Surprised

), and also considering Japan's pretty excellent safety record and safety culture in so many other aspects of daily life and how things are in comparably developed nations elsewhere, road safety can leave a lot to be desired.

I think the biggest reason for this is the police not doing their job properly. It's only been since the infamous drink-drive case in Fukuoka last year that drink driving has been taken even remotely seriously. And still many police are more bothered about catching people out and boosting their own finances over trivial offences than stamping out dangerous habits.

A Japanese friend of mine was knocked off her bicycle on a crossing a couple of years ago. She was furious with the driver who'd actually not been turning, but went straight through a red light. Luckily (she thought), a police car had seen what happened and pulled over. All the police did was to ask my friend if she was ok, ask the driver if he was ok and tell them both to go home!! The following week my friend got a Y12,000 parking fine - she'd parked on a street you CAN park on, but she had parked the car facing the wrong way.

I think her two incidents sum up the police attitude to road safety pretty well.