My son (a junior high school student) was involved in an incident on the way home from club activity.
He was cycling on his bike on the path and a car driver reversed out of her house. My son hit into the car and the driver got out and apologized. The bike is fine and he has a slight cut on his finger. I don’t know if the car was damaged.
So my Japanese wife asked me if we should inform his school and/or the police.
I said we should leave it and say nothing.
What would you do?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
by Massive-Detective957
22 comments
your son should go to a hospital as you dont know what damages he may have incurred. he may have a hidden injury. the school has insurance and the lady should have insurance. report it to protect your son’s ass in case this develops into a health issue later. get your son checked out by a doctor.
In general – Any accident needs to call the police. Do not leave the accident scene or you could be in trouble, even if you actually are the victim, as the other party could call and claim you fled.
Leave the god damn school out of it, for fuck’s sake.
It did not happen on school grounds, it wasn’t an issue of school discipline, what interest could the school have in this except to make your son, or perhaps all of the children in his school, suffer unnecessary scrutiny?
Japanese schools invade quite enough of children’s off-campus, personal lives as it is.
It’s a bit late really, and I would inform the police only if you intend to press charges and/or seek restitution, but you should be aware that *even though your child is a minor* and *even though he was riding a bicycle and she was driving a car* and *even if you had video footage proving it was 100% her fault beyond a shadow of any doubt*, odds are the insurance company will decide otherwise and the police have no say in the matter.
Typically the best ratio an insurance company will give for any particular accident is 10%/90% liability. The police are involved only to asses if there were crimes committed, which they report to the insurance company, which adds them to the liability calculous.
If the police do find that one or both parties may be criminally liable, they will ask one or both parties if they are interested in pressing charges. I have no experience with what happens if you choose to go that route.
Same as bottom reply, but reposting as a comment for visibility. Source: was in an accident recently.
Police will try to make it a civil affair and have the both of you reconcile privately. If you cannot come to an agreement on what you and the other party want to do, then police can bring it to the next step. Both you and the other lady want it to go away, but you need to report it. (I got in trouble for not reporting and I was the one that was hit, it was resolved on the spot with myself and the other party agreeing to take care of our own bikes and not press charges or claim insurance from the other party)
Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to get the police involved for the report in any sort of car accident just to protect yourself. Like if I was the lady I’d be calling the police and getting the report because “it’s legally required” and as the adult in the situation you can get in hot water if you don’t. Also you don’t know if the kids parents are the litigious types and having the report then and there prevents them from claiming massive damages later.
From your position though, I’d basically ignore it. If the kid is fine and all it’s the lady that is going to get in trouble for not reporting it, you’re basically free of liability. If she tries to pull shit later like “he damaged my car pay!” Just ask for the police report showing the damage and she’ll be fucked because she doesn’t have it.
If it was just a very minor “bump” and there is no obvious damage or injury it’s better not to start a big fuss. The Japanese are famous for making the slightest “accident” a reason for a week of restful “recuperation” for the “victims” and major insurance investigations. Not worth the trouble. Once you get this train rolling it lasts a very, very long time. Yes, protect your son but don’t go overboard.
The right thing to do is report it. Even if it was a minor incident. If the school found out about this without you telling them, it could cause some unwanted drama and tension between you and them.
I would agree with you by just leaving it and saying nothing if it were outside Japan, like in America, or something. But we’re in Japan, and that’s how they do things here, and we should respect that and follow through. Your wife is right.
Why involve the school? I’m scratching my head on that one, because the school has nothing to do with this.
Anyway, I’d grab your kid, wife, and a box of nice rice crackers and green tea, then pay the old lady a visit. Don’t apologize, but just check in with her and make sure everything is alright. Take pictures if possible to document the visit and try to get one with the old lady and your kid together, smiling and making the peace sign. Basically, it’s a CYA in case she calls the cops to file a report, so then you can show pictures of your friendly visit, drinking o-cha and eating sembei like nothing happened. If she apologizes, let her, but at no time should you guys make any such expression. But that’s my 2 cents. I wouldn’t involve the cops either, because honestly, I doubt they’re going to give an unchi.
This is Japan.
Your son was hit by a car. That’s the way the law works here. The police should have been called.
Heyyy friend my son just had a similar incident. He’s also in JHS. This is what happened- he was biking on the street with friends and when looking behind veered into the street. A car accidentally clipped him with the mirror on his shoulder. It was going fairly slow.
Next the driver got out to check my son, ask if he is hurt or needs a hospital. Called his parents(us) and my husband went to find them. Police officer also showed up to take a report. It was determined my son had no injury after several checks otherwise he would be taken to a hospital.
This seemed to satisfy everyone although it might seem overkill to others.
Especially since your son is a minor and it sounds like the driver is at fault, I think you should have filed a report to be safe.
Getting higher powers involved sounds like a nightmare.
The most I would do is visit the house and ask them to install a mirror or something so it doesn’t happen again.
Glad to hear your son was okay. I hope you’ve purchased him bicycle insurance.
I would report it to police so she can’t sue you for car damages
You should always inform the school, they’re really involved in how children are progressing these days and want to know these kinds of details in order to help.
Also you should go to the hospital ASAP for preliminary inspection.
Not because you think there’s anything wrong, but because you need to check the box
My son was hit by a car at super slow speed, 100% the driver’s fault, I watched it happen.
Similarly, no damage. Car was a bit scuffed, bike and son had tiny scratches, but the lady, myself, and my son decided to just leave it alone.
Didn’t take pictures, didn’t call police.
The husband later tried to file a report for vandalism with the police and told them they knew that the culprit was my son.
Police came and heard the story, luckily they were reasonable human beings, saw the scuffs on the car and my son’s scratches were still healing under a bandaid, so the cop put 2 and 2 together.
My advice in these situations:
1. Take pictures. Take videos and record any conversation at the scene especially if you don’t plan to get the police involved.
2. Adrenaline can mask pain. So medical issues can pop up the following day. It’s always a good idea to exchange information just in case. Name, address, phone number, name of their car insurance company, name of your kids bicycle insurance company if any.
3. If any medical issues pop up randomly within 2-3 days (muscle and joint pain specifically) see a doctor and tell them about the accident. The doctor can tell you if the accident is relevant in that case.
If the person on the bicycle was an old person, it might be worth it to get checked out even without noticing pain, but young kids tend to bounce back pretty quick. Keeping an eye on their health for a few days should be fine.
That said, I wasn’t there. You do what you feel is necessary and good luck!
She should’ve called the police. You could get her into big trouble now for it. You ALWAYS have to call the police if there’s a collision/accident here, even if it’s minor.
Call the hospital and ask them what you should do. Tell them what you told us. Saves a lot of time.
I think you should.
Just get him checked out. No need for police.
Assume the car owner is going to report to school and/or police as hit and run by your kid. Just because.
Japan is like boxing. Defend yourself at all times.
So yeah. Report to school and police.
REPORT TO THE POLICE
Don’t trust that the other party won’t throw you under the bus later on, if they report it first – YOU might get in trouble.
car owner reversed out of the house? damn, such a violation. as far as I know we are told to park in reverse to prevent accident.
anyway I believe all your family have bike insurance?
it would be useful incase where your son is in the wrong.
regarding this case, if the injury is small probably no need to waste effort.