Man arrested on suspicion of "driving" by bicycle or injured car Tokyo Suginami, Tokyo June 23, 17:50
A man who was supposed to have been "driving" on a bicycle in Suginami Ward, Tokyo was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department on the suspicion of injuring another vehicle. It means denying the charges. The penalties for legal driving have been strengthened with the revision of the law at the end of this month, and bicycles are also covered.
The person arrested was Takuya Hoshiyama (42), whose occupation in Suginami Ward is unknown.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, on the 15th of this month, on the street of the shopping street near JR Ogikubo station, a man in his 30s intentionally hit his car with a bicycle, and he was suspected of damaging the other car's property.
Security cameras around the scene and car drive recorders show the situation at the time, other things such as putting the bicycle in front of the car and meandering around it to obstruct the passage and the voice of the driver roaring. Was recorded.
These actions are not included in the charges of arrest, but the stipulations regarding the swaying driving will be strengthened under the revised Road Traffic Law enacted on the 30th of this month, and bicycles will also be covered.
He denied the charges against the investigation and stated that he did not intentionally hit him.
The image of the security camera on the shop floor shopping street...
You can see a bicycle passing on the right side of the car colliding with the car.
It looks like the bicycle is turning the steering wheel and hitting it on purpose.
The car gets stuck, and the line of traffic continues to grow.
In the victim's car drive recorder...
The sound of something hitting the car body was recorded after the man's bicycle disappeared from the screen as if it had passed the right side of the car.
In addition, the man walks in front of the car and puts his bicycle down, which prevents the car from moving forward.
The man disappears from the screen again, but the sound that seems to be hitting the car continues.
According to the victim, when he tried to get out of the car and pay by hand, the man shouted in a loud voice, "Please stop, please." And the voice of the man at that time is recorded.
After that, the man was riding on a bicycle and meandering around the car.
A victim of "panicking due to abusive voice and traffic jam"
A man in his thirties, who was driving a car, said, “I was scared when I couldn't talk because I was screaming loudly in the shopping streets. When I was coming, I was in a panic because I was blocked by traffic jams," he recalled.
In addition, he said, "If the law is revised, I want you to firmly crack down on dangerous driving of bicycles."
Bicycles may also be fine
The tilted driving is subject to severe penalties under the revised Road Traffic Law enacted on the 30th of this month, including bicycles.
Although tilted driving has not been defined legally until now, this revision of the law stipulates driving due to actions such as crossing and sudden braking to obstruct traffic.
Bicycles are legally treated as the same vehicles as automobiles, and it is said that a maximum of five years in prison or a fine of one million yen or less will be imposed if such an act creates a danger while driving a vehicle.
If you are 14 years old or older, you may be subject to criminal penalties if you drive by bicycle. In addition, the regulations on "dangerous behavior" concerning bicycles were revised, and tilted driving was regarded as one of "dangerous behavior" along with ignoring traffic lights and drunk driving.
If you are arrested for performing “dangerous behavior” more than once in three years, you will have to take a bicycle safety course, or you will be fined 50,000 yen or less.
Successive dangerous actions of bicycles to strengthen crackdowns
Malicious driving and dangerous behavior by bicycle are occurring all over the country.
According to the National Police Agency, the number of “dangerous behaviors” on bicycles detected by police all over the country last year was 26,667, most of which were ignorance of traffic lights and unreasonable traffic at railroad crossings.
On the other hand, until now, there was no clear regulation in the law regarding "drifting", and it was difficult to crack down on actions such as sudden braking and shifting.
The police said that dangerous acts could lead to serious accidents even with bicycles, and decided to impose the same severe penalties as automobiles under the revised Road Traffic Law that will come into effect on the 30th of this month. I am going to do it.