In December, a taxi collided with a utility pole in Kitakyushu City, killing two passengers and a driver. Immediately before the accident, the driver was suspected of having lost consciousness due to his illness. I did.
On the night of December 17, a taxi crashed into a utility pole on a city road in Tobata-ku, Kitakyushu, killing a 74-year-old driver and a 72-year-old man in the back seat, as well as his wife and daughter. I did.
According to police, the driver was diagnosed by a doctor who confirmed his death shortly before the accident and may have lost consciousness due to heart failure, and his family doctor also said he had a heart disease. ..
In addition, as a result of examining the scene of the accident, it was found that there were no brakes around and that the taxi seemed to have collided with a utility pole without slowing down.
For this reason, police are investigating whether the taxi company was aware of the driver's health condition, suspecting that the driver's loss of consciousness due to his illness led to the accident.
Illness countries of taxi and bus drivers also take measures
The number of cases in which drivers of taxis, buses, trucks, etc. cause accidents due to illness is increasing, and in particular, heart disease accounts for a higher proportion than brain disease, so the government is taking measures.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, there are a total of 1564 cases in which drivers of commercial vehicles such as taxis and buses have had accidents while driving due to health problems in the six years up to 2018. Of these, 227 cases were caused by heart disease such as myocardial infarction and heart failure, which is the highest number compared to brain disease and aortic aneurysm.
In addition, of the 267 deaths, 143 have heart disease, accounting for more than half.
For this reason, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has formulated guidelines for business operators and is requesting specific measures for early detection and prevention of diseases that cause accidents.
According to the guidelines, if a driver has symptoms that require attention, he / she should immediately see a medical institution, or a driver who is considered to be at high risk of developing the disease based on the results of a health examination should be examined by echo or CT. I want you to receive it.