I just renewed my license and discovered that if anything happens on the road, it’s the driver’s fault. We had to watch this video of actual accidents, and in every example I would have said it was not the driver’s fault but in Japan, I would be wrong.
For example, a car in the city is turning right, a bus had stopped to let them make the turn. As the car is turning a scooter suddenly appears on the outside of the bus. So the scooter has passed the bus illegally on the outside of the lane but for some reason it is still the driver’s fault.
In another one a cyclist is riding at night, the taxi driver is accelerating to pass by and the cyclist suddenly veers to the right. No signal, no shoulder check, nothing. Driver’s fault.
I think this might be why so many people here drive so carefully, because if anything happens they’re the one at fault.
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>I think this might be why so many people here drive so carefully
..Are we in the same Japan?
Yeah, Japanese logic with auto collisions would make Vulcan explode
Last time I went the whole place burst into cheers and applause when an old person surrendered their license.
Took a minute for me to catch onto what was happening…
Also remember that a ton of accidents are old people who have no business driving. I went to a 講習 to get my suspension lessened (oops). They gave case studies of some accidents and I swear only one wasn’t ‘male 71, female 68’ or similar. They had such fucking brutal deaths too. Like slamming into the edge of a bridge, going over the edge and rolling/spinning before smashing headfirst into water.
Basically in Japan if you could have somehow prevented the accident then you’re at part fault.
>For example, a car in the city is turning right, a bus had stopped to let them make the turn. As the car is turning a scooter suddenly appears on the outside of the bus. So the scooter has passed the bus illegally on the outside of the lane but for some reason it is still the driver’s fault.
Here they would say you should have slowed down or stopped to double check if it’s actually clear or you could have let the bus pass to have a clear view of the road.
>In another one a cyclist is riding at night, the taxi driver is accelerating to pass by and the cyclist suddenly veers to the right. No signal, no shoulder check, nothing. Driver’s fault.
Here you could have not pass or wait till you have more space to pass or you shouldn’t have accelerated but slowed down, etc.
I’m also used to and believe that those who break the law should be at 100% fault but I do understand the japanese reasoning. But with that you get people that will on purposely try to hit you to claim insurance or just be dicks because they have the right of way.
If you have dashcams and the video *proves* that the accident was not your fault, it will go a long way to helping your case with the police and with insurance. You may still get 10% or 20% blame portioned to you, because it is very rare to be 0% at fault in Japan, but that’s a lot better than being 80% or 90% at fault.
Also worth noting is that elderly Japanese drivers are **notorious** for lying to the police about accidents because they know if they are found at fault they risk losing their license. Having a dashcam in this case is critical, or you will get screwed.
So it’s really, really important to have front & rear high quality dashcams, and to test them periodically to make sure they are still working. Get good High Endurance SD cards, and format them from time to time. Don’t just “set and forget” because flash will eventually wear out. Don’t buy cheap flash memory, it will fail quickly.
I recommend checking out [/r/Dashcam](https://old.reddit.com/r/Dashcam/) and looking at their sidebar for suggestions. Personally I bought a dual cam VIOFO set from the VIOFO store on Ali Express and then installed it myself. It works great, and because it uses a super capacitor and not a battery, it manages the very hot summer car temps just fine.
It’s the same in France I think. It is because of the lethality of the car comparing to the bikes or bicycles. You are always supposed to be able to control your car, in any situation, because you would kill all these people
Some car insurance tiers include a lawyer for when liability is disputed. I have thankfully not had to use the service but I have heard first hand of cases going 60/40 to 100/0 thanks to them.
I agree with the Japanese system. It ensures proper responsibility and control over your vehicle.
The one accident I was in, was a car making a right form a culdesac cutting in front of me. I was on my motorcycle and the police gave me 10% fault while the car driver got 90%.
Now every time there is even a slight chance of this happening I keep the bike away from the left side of the road by going wide.
The longer I ride here the more I see drivers running stop signs and not looking when turning into larger roads. Just letting god take the wheel. The worst offenders are the ugly large white Vans like the alphard, El-grand and Noha. The Nissan Seranas are the exception to that.
> a bus had stopped to let them make the turn. As the car is turning a scooter suddenly appears on the outside of the bus. So the scooter has passed the bus illegally on the outside of the lane
Not necessarily illegal. What makes you say it was? I failed my first (UK) driving test for a similar case.
> In another one a cyclist is riding at night, the taxi driver is accelerating to pass by and the cyclist suddenly veers to the right. No signal, no shoulder check, nothing. Driver’s fault.
If you’re overtaking you need to leave adequate clearance, especially when it’s a vulnerable road user.
Took my drivers licence here. The way the instructor explained it is that the responsibility of any accident is shared to a degree, like 80%-20%, 50-50, etc.
The only way is to have 0% responsibility in an accident is to have your car be completely stationary when it happens. If your car was moving, you are at least partly to blame, because “you should have been more careful”.
I guess the logic is that in the grave, it will not matter whose fault the accident was, and this attitude is supposed to make everyone drive more safely.
Well, the 100s of millions of yens you will need to pay to the victim’s family in case of a fatal accident also helps.
If you are driving a vehicle, you are responsible for the safety while operating that vehicle. If someone hit my parked car in front of my apartment while I was abroad, I imagine I might be asked why I parked where someone could hit it.
Its just part of owning a car.
Didn’t that video show that had the scooter not been there the driver would have ran over a pedestrian on the crosswalk?
I think the point there was because the bus blocks your view, you should turn extremely cautiously in that situation.
I’m assuming you never actually took the driving course here. A scooter passing like that is not illegal and is something that you’re specifically taught to look out for. So it is the drivers fault. Also in Japan any accident involving a pedestrian or biker is 100% the drivers fault. This is taught at school and is why they say you are supposed to drive with caution around pedestrians. Hell not stopping at a crosswalk for pedestrians is a traffic violation.
The Japanese rule of accidents is that everyone involved is more or less at fault. Even if it’s clearly obviously the other person’s fault, you still get a bit of the blame for not having been able to react in time to avoid the accident.
The scales are also mostly weighted towards blaming the car when the accident involves a car versus a pedestrian, bicyclist, or motor bike, because those usually suffer more from an accident and therefore drivers are expected to be particularly aware of and careful around them.
This certainly is part of the reason why speed limits are so ridiculously low in Japan, like 25 to 30 mph on regular roads and 37 to 50 on most *highways*.
I think it’s the same here in the UK. We have to pass a theory test that let’s us we are at fault.
A couple of months ago a woman was found guilty for hitting a boy that jumped in front of her car, the woman was doing 27 on a 30mph road.
Pedestrians > cyclists > cars > buses/trucks.
The pecking order of who will be “the victim” for an accident. Right side be damn.
It’s why most pedestrians and cyclists are idiots on headphones and handphone and are blind to cars. They get all your money when they jump right into your path.
Better be slow and careful, or prepare to pay high premium on your insurance.
I just experienced this a couple days ago, a bus was stopped on the road dropping off people and a car that was behind him decided he didn’t want to wait anymore so he darts out into my lane no signal or anything, I had to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting him
I ended up getting rear ended by a motorcycle, the fault was 50/50 motorcycle for following too closely and me suddenly stopping even tho it was to avoid an accident, the car that caused the whole thing drove away after it happened
The situation with the bus – that’s against traffic rules but many people do it despite it creating more dangerous situation. To be 100% correct you should ignore the vehicle letting you do the turn because it’s their right of way.
Haha speed limits here are cultural more than legal. You drive at the speed needed to not bother other people which is faster than you think. Anyone here get a speeding ticket on the highway ever?
Drivers also get arrested if they hit someone running across the highway or jaywalker.
i think it just takes into account the inherent danger of cars vs smaller vehicles.
I’m curious as to when this video was created. If it was before Dashcams became a commonly used device, then I believe they are intentionally refusing to update it to promote safe driving. I’m not entirely opposed to this, but it leads to a lot of questions.
The same probably applies to if this video was created after their adoption.
I’m fortunate enough to say I have no personal experience with this, but Dashcam footage does go a long way from what I’ve heard.