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Driver struck by another vehicle in the wrong lane, still ordered to pay 40 million yen

Meg Murphy Apr 22, 2015
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Driving is dangerous business – tons of metal and motors on wheels, whizzing around at high speeds past other vehicles and pedestrians, which is why you never want to throw alcohol into that mix. What a lot of people don’t realize, though, is that driving while you’re sleepy can be just as dangerous as driving drunk. You become less attentive, your reaction time slows, and drowsiness can also affect your decision-making.

Three years ago, a tragic accident occurred in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, in which a sleepy driver drifted into the opposite lane, causing a fatal accident. The case went to court, and the court’s decision was announced last Monday. Many were shocked to hear the results: that the judge placed fault on the driver of the car that was struck, ordering them to pay 40 million yen (over US$336,000) in damages.

In April 2012, a man (the owner of the car, whom we’ll call Mr. A) and two friends were out driving on Highway 8 in Fukui Prefecture. Mr. A was sitting in the passenger seat, allowing his friend to drive. The driver started nodding off at the wheel, drifted into the wrong lane, and, striking an oncoming car, resulting in Mr. A’s death. His bereaved family took the driver of the other car (who we’ll call B) to court for damages, claiming B held responsibility as well.

Under the Japanese Automobile Accident Compensation Act, if a driver is unable to prove they are without fault, they become responsible for damages. The judge ruled that, since there was nothing to prove that B was at fault or not, under the AACA, B would have to pay compensation.

According to the bereaved family’s lawyer, in similar cases this is the first time that the other vehicle has been held responsible.

The insurance on A’s car didn’t cover drivers outside of his immediate family. Since it was his friend driving, the family did not receive any restitution.

The sentence admits that, without being able to determine when the car drifted into the other lane they were unable to determine any fault. However, it states that if, for example, driver B had been paying attention and noticed the other car in time, B could have honked their horn or similar, and therefore could not be completely cleared of any blame.

Japanese netizens seem to have lost faith in their judicial system upon reading about the case:

“Japan’s justice system has to be the shittiest…”

“This is disgusting”

“The district court is pretty much full of BS”

“Hey world, this is Japan!!”

“So, he should’ve flown into the air or something to avoid the accident?”

Accidents are tragic for all involved, especially for the family of the deceased, but was it really right to take the other driver to court? At the very least, we’ll tell you all to be careful out there on the roads!

Source: Fukui Shimbun, Hamusoku
Featured image: Naypong at FreeDigitalImages