By KOSUKE TAUCHI/ Staff Writer
March 24, 2022 at 18:50 JST
The Asahi Shimbun
Ahead of its traffic safety campaign this spring, the National Police Agency reported that 30 elementary school pupils died in traffic accidents involving the bicycles they were riding from 2017 to 2021.
In addition, 1,352 elementary school pupils on bicycles sustained serious injuries in traffic accidents during that same period, according to the NPA statistics.
The police said that it found that traffic accidents involving elementary school students on bicycles occur more frequently on weekday evenings, after children have finished school.
Most of the elementary school students who died or sustained serious injuries in traffic accidents while on bicycles over the five years did so at intersections. More than 70 percent of them, or 1,012, collided at intersections with cars coming from different directions.
One hundred and twenty-five students collided with cars when turning right or left at intersections.
Many pupils didn’t observe traffic laws, with 341 children failing to look properly to ensure their safety.
According to the statistics, 233 pupils were in breach of the rules on cycling at intersections, for example, failing to be alert for pedestrians or approaching cars.
In addition, 212 pupils failed to stop briefly when required to do so by road signs or other means. Only 263 of 1,382 students didn’t break any traffic laws.
The NPA also found that 2,522 elementary school students died or were seriously injured after becoming involved in traffic accidents while walking over the same five years.
Among these, 941 pupils were not in breach of any traffic rules.
In the 941 cases, almost 40 percent of drivers didn’t observe traffic regulations and failed to stop for children at pedestrian crossings.
Also, around 40 percent of drivers in the same 941 cases were in violation of the rules requiring them to drive safely, for example, failing to be aware of their surroundings to ensure safety.
Among the 2,522 pupils, 888 of them broke a traffic law by suddenly dashing in front of vehicles.
The NPA said that it will enhance its efforts to enlighten drivers on safety issues, including instructing them about their duty to allow pedestrians to safely walk across crossings.
It also said that it will ramp up enforcement efforts against drivers who flout traffic laws.
Police across the country will conduct additional enforcement efforts to prevent traffic accidents mainly during morning and evening hours when students are going and returning from schools on April 12.
Police will focus on apprehending motorists driving drunk or failing to stop at pedestrian crossings.
The initiative is in response to a deadly traffic accident in Yachimata, Chiba Prefecture, in June last year in which five elementary school children died or were injured after getting hit by a truck while walking home from school.
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