Photo/Illutration The National Police Agency (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Serious injuries and deaths caused by distracted bicyclists using their phones hit a record high in the first six month of 2024, the National Police Agency announced on July 25.

There have been 18 such accidents through June, 17 of which involved serious injuries and one that was fatal.

That is more than twice the number of similar cases in the same period last year, and the highest since 2007, when police began tracking distracted bicyclist cases.

In three of the accidents, the cyclists were talking on their phones, and in 15 cases they were watching videos or other content on their phones.

The NPA compiled and released the accident statistics for distracted bicyclist cases for the first time, ahead of changes to the Road Traffic Law that will take effect in November.

These amendments, approved in May, will make using a smartphone or other device while riding a bike a punishable offense.

There were 102 serious traffic accidents attributed to bicyclists distracted by devices from 2019 through 2023.

In more than half of these cases, the distracted cyclist was under 20, while cyclists in their 20s accounted for nearly 20 percent and those in their 30s accounted for more than 10 percent.

As for the other parties involved in these collisions, cars totaled 36.3 percent, pedestrians 34.3 percent and other bicycles 26.5 percent.

In addition, distracted drivers using smartphones in their cars caused 14 fatal accidents and 44 accidents with serious injuries in the first half of 2024.

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