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Tragic accident in Yokohama

It's news cause a gaijin was riding, nothing else. Now if it was a brakeless bike it would be a bigger story. The old guy walked out against the lights, sad but true by the report.
 
Nor I.
 
Amazing he made it to 97 by being so oblivious to traffic. But then, they start them early here. One trip up and down the Tama trail and it was nothing but codger dodgers and kids with no helmets and not a care in the world if they got mowed down. I've actually yet to see a pedestrian actually make eye contact here before crossing. Same with vehicular traffic attempting a cross traffic turn - or even worse , taxis merging into flow.
 
Yeah, OK, fair enough and we all know that is how things go here, but it may possibly be an idea to hold off for a while before handing out what may indeed be a worthy slagging...someones Granddad and all that.
 
Also, I recently got decent brakes for my cheap road bike after nearly falling off a mountain. I sometimes ride a dendo assist mama chari and suddenly realized the brakes on it (even with new pads) are just awful. It's a good idea to bear in mind other cyclists are, often by design, simply unable to stop within even 1/5 the distance we are.

Edit: Sorry, I mean 5/1 times the distance.
 
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I sometimes ride a dendo assist mama chari and suddenly realized the brakes on it (even with new pads) are just awful. It's a good idea to bear in mind other cyclists are, often by design, simply unable to stop within even 1/5 the distance we are.

Excellent point!
 
It's a good idea to bear in mind other cyclists are, often by design, simply unable to stop within even 1/5 the distance we are.

Why would anybody ever need another cyclist to stop? If you are going about your business correctly, you should not even need another cyclists to change their flight-path, let alone apply brakes.
 
As a cyclist, I would be rather grateful if certain other cyclists noticed my approach (correct flight-path, modest speed) and demonstrated this by applying their brakes. But no, I've come to realize that part of the maternal instinct for a certain kind of mamachari-riding mother with small child is to keep the eyes forward unwaveringly, and firmly ignore distracting temptations such as peripheral vision and moving the head. Mama on a side street about to cross a larger street? If there's space in front of Mama, forward she goes. I've come to guess that mothers with small kids may be potential homicide/suicide cases, and to apply my own brakes accordingly.

Mothers with strollers are similar. One suddenly did a U-turn close in front of me on the Tamagawa "cycle road" (not!) a couple of weeks ago. Maybe she hoped to collect on the insurance; maybe she actually was deranged. I never thought I had much of a paternal instinct, but (by my own, hen-na-gaijin standards) it would outperform many maternal instincts as I can judge them.
 
Without blaming either party, I wonder how the payments (or not) from one side to the other might eventually work out.

Since the old guy died, I doubt he will be assigned any blame. So if there is any bike/clothing damage, or medical treatment for the cyclist, it likely won't count. (Nor would I claim that if I were in this cyclist's position.)

It's not like a 97-year old has any years of productive income left, so maybe a little kindness & help with the funeral expenses would be enough? (expenses which the family should probably have been expecting at any moment) But how much would that be?
 
One suddenly did a U-turn close in front of me on the Tamagawa "cycle road" (not!)
Yes. I mean no. It's not a cycle path. None of the various municipalities responsible for upkeep in their districts call it a cycling path, although some of them used to do so before the recent popularity of sports bikes and simultaneous increase in (occasionally fatal) accidents.

It's there to "promote health through walking, running, etc." So, whatever might seem obvious to the cycling community, at best it's a shared-use path. That means it's the cyclists' responsibility to give way to everyone else* and ride at a speed appropriate for shared use. Officially, that would mean mamachari (little faster than walking) pace.

*Except motor scooters. They are fair game. Several times over the years I have physically stopped scooter riders and thrown their keys down the bank. The looks on their faces: priceless.
 
I love the idea of plucking ignition keys and tossing them downhill, but for several complicating factors:
  • Often it's clear that scooters (and cars) are allowed below the, uh, shared-use path, and not obvious how they should get there. The rider could have made a mistake. Worse, I could be making a mistake. (Was there really one of those blue, pedestrian-and-cyclist signs, or am I just assuming that there was?) I'd hate to find myself hauled up before some cop and end up paying I don't know how much for replacement keys, loss of time, loss of income.....
  • Sometimes it's pretty clear that scooters, or anyway mopeds, are there on official (if rather indeterminable) business. (I've seen old gents on the something-something patrol.)
  • Even the dodgiest-looking of scooter riders seem careful and quiet. (As in "I'm only doing this for a bet that I really wish I hadn't made. Sorry! Pay no attention to me. Where can I get off?")
The Arakawa whatever-path is repeatedly labelled a cycling road. (Unless I hallucinated that.) And around the north of Tokyo it has a mad combination of (A) wide, smooth surfaces, which encourage speed, and (B) really vicious steel barriers, ready to maim any cyclist riding inattentively at night, and which I suppose are impassable by riders of electrified mamachari who haven't done weightlifting practice.
 
Without blaming either party, I wonder how the payments (or not) from one side to the other might eventually work out.

Since the old guy died, I doubt he will be assigned any blame. So if there is any bike/clothing damage, or medical treatment for the cyclist, it likely won't count. (Nor would I claim that if I were in this cyclist's position.)

It's not like a 97-year old has any years of productive income left, so maybe a little kindness & help with the funeral expenses would be enough? (expenses which the family should probably have been expecting at any moment) But how much would that be?


Regardless of who's to actually to blame for causing the accident as a bicycle is regarded as a light vehicle and that priority is as follows:

Children/Ederly/Infirm
Pedestrians
Light vehicle
Moped
Motor Cycles
Car
TRuck /bus

Which means the poor guy on the bike will get hit for full responsibility and may well get prison time for man slaughter.
 
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It's there to "promote health through walking, running, etc." So, whatever might seem obvious to the cycling community, at best it's a shared-use path. That means it's the cyclists' responsibility to give way to everyone else* and ride at a speed appropriate for shared use. Officially, that would mean mamachari (little faster than walking) pace..

Again in the eyes of the law the bicycle is considered a light vehicle therefore 20km/h is the maximum legal speed you can ride on "Shared use paths". Also as a light vehicle it is your responsibility to give way to all pedestrian regardless of stupidity levels.
 
  • Often it's clear that scooters (and cars) are allowed below the, uh, shared-use path, and not obvious how they should get there. The rider could have made a mistake. Worse, I could be making a mistake. (Was there really one of those blue, pedestrian-and-cyclist signs, or am I just assuming that there was?) I'd hate to find myself hauled up before some cop and end up paying I don't know how much for replacement keys, loss of time, loss of income.....
  • Sometimes it's pretty clear that scooters, or anyway mopeds, are there on official (if rather indeterminable) business. (I've seen old gents on the something-something patrol.)
  • Even the dodgiest-looking of scooter riders seem careful and quiet. (As in "I'm only doing this for a bet that I really wish I hadn't made. Sorry! Pay no attention to me. Where can I get off?")


Motor vehicle access to Tamagawa between Futako Tamagawa to about the Todoroki park on the Kawasaki side is usually at the Futakotamagawa bridge. I've only seen vehicles on the lower two gravel pathways. And as stated, they are typically very cautious travelling at reduced speeds. I'm not too sure what the qualifications are though, I've seen people of all ages, typically in baseball uniform, on mopeds in this area.

Late in the evening, I've observed stunters on modified sport motorcycles practicing wheelies and stoppies on the lower section where it is paved. And the occasional dual sport going rapidly along the gravel path.

The path is definitely mixed use, with priority given to pedestrians. IMO a bit courtesy goes a long way... "toorimasu" "suimasen" "shitsureishimasu" usually gets good results. Watch for body cues of people you are passing. And if you insist on going 30+km/h, use the vehicle road the parallels the river.
 
I've lived in Japan a long time but hadn't realized quite how potty the laws were. Right ho, as a cyclist I should attach one of those miniature cowbell things to my handlebar in order to discreetly remind pedestrians of my presence, hoping that they will volunteer to move aside. But I shan't use my regular bell to emit a "Ping!", as this by implication asserts that they should give way to me. Whereas it's the other way around. Instead, I shall stop and dismount. FFS.

Not that this really matters much: sorry though I am for the family that lost (great) grandpa, fatal accidents attributable (however insanely) to cyclists must be few. Where it alarms is the notion that bus drivers are responsible for accidents between busses and cars. Certainly there exist sleepy, incompetent and criminally negligent bus drivers, but I bet their percentage is far lower than the percentage of similar car drivers. All this in a nation where (for example) it's fine to drive around with music so loud -- "Look at me; I'm so cool!" -- that it's a wonder the car doesn't visibly shake.
 
Again in the eyes of the law the bicycle is considered a light vehicle therefore 20km/h is the maximum legal speed you can ride on "Shared use paths". Also as a light vehicle it is your responsibility to give way to all pedestrian regardless of stupidity levels.

Regardless of who's to actually to blame for causing the accident as a bicycle is regarded as a light vehicle and that priority is as follows:

Children/Ederly/Infirm
Pedestrians
Light vehicle
Moped
Motor Cycles
Car
TRuck /bus

Which means the poor guy on the bike will get hit for full responsibility and may well get prison time for man slaughter.

Good info, and worth keeping in mind. ((Hopefully, it won't be all that strict, but still, ride defensively.))
 
No info given about this case, but I'd wonder how ear buds might affect liability.

I frequently call out to folks I'm approaching from behind. Some hear, some don't...
 
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