It may have been a little off guard.


However, it was an irreversible accident.



A high school student riding a bicycle drove while operating a smartphone and thrust into a man.

The man was watching over traffic safety, strongly wishing that children could go to school safely.



Two years later, the man is still bedridden and unable to speak.


"I don't want this to happen again," the family complains.



(Kobe Broadcasting Station Reporter Kinreirin / Network News Department Reporter Yuki Takuma)

Being hit by a bicycle and becoming unconscious

The accident happened in the morning of June 2019.



Minoru Tomita (79), who lives nearby on a city road in Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture, was hit by a high school student who was attending school by bicycle and became unconscious.



I was a new reporter at the time (= money).



For over a month after I was assigned to the Kobe Broadcasting Station, I was in charge of covering incidents and accidents.



"What kind of accident was it that a person who was hit by a bicycle became unconscious and seriously ill?"



I heard a police spokesman and visited my family.

Why do you look prominent ...

Mr. Tomita's wife, Mr. Masuyo, and his daughter, Mr. Masumi, welcomed us.



Mr. Tomita volunteered to watch over the children going to school every morning, and was also active on the day of the accident.



This is a picture taken while volunteering.



Standing by a telephone pole on the side of the road, he has a yellow hat, a yellow vest, and a yellow flag.



It is said that he was dressed the same on the day and stood in the same place as usual.



The one that was hit was a five-forked road near my house with poor visibility.



Morning and evening is a place where people who commute to work or school have a lot of traffic by car or bicycle.



Mr. Tomita was dressed to stand out even from a distance, and despite standing on the side of the road, he was hit by a bicycle.



When I heard them, I couldn't believe them right away.

Accumulation of small violations becomes a serious accident

"Why did the bicycle hit a person standing by a telephone pole in a prominent fashion?"



I once learned that I was interviewing the police.



It means that the accumulation of small bicycle violations led to a serious accident.



A high school student who was driving a bicycle said, "I was operating my smartphone and didn't look in front of me."



This is the so-called "distracted driving" that is prohibited by law.



Furthermore, although it is a legal rule that bicycles should run on the left side in principle, the bicycle that caused the accident was running on the right side of the road.



Bicycles repeatedly violated the rules, causing a serious accident that seriously injured Mr. Tomita.

Children's encouragement and safety wishes continue

Tomita was a high school teacher.



In 2012, after retirement, he was shocked to see an accident in which a car crashed into a line of elementary school students attending school in Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture.



"Since my grandson was just in the first grade of elementary school, I started volunteering to protect my children." (Mr. Masuyo) For the



next seven years, almost every morning, the children stood on the road to school. I kept watching over my school attendance.



I was also concerned about small changes, such as remembering each person's name, encouraging a weak child, and listening to a child who was depressed when he had a fight.



He was also relied on by local parents.



Mr. Tomita always said that even if his grandson graduated from elementary school, he would continue to stand on the school road while he was fine, because he wanted to live as a volunteer.

Father's Day Oath The next day

To prevent traffic accidents, Mr. Tomita has repeatedly appealed to Itami City and the police for a traffic light.



The answer was that it was impossible to install a traffic light due to the structure of the road, but the danger was recognized, and after that, a new sidewalk and green belt were installed at the intersection.



However, Mr. Tomita, who thought that it was still insufficient, called Itami City directly four days before the accident and appealed for the installation of a traffic light.



On June 16th, the day before the accident, in front of the family gathered on "Father's Day", "I will continue to stand as physically as I can. Even if I get older and I can not stand on the school road, the children will Installing a traffic light so that you can safely go to school is the culmination of your life. "



And the next day, I had an accident.



"I'm sorry to have had an accident even though I've been watching over my children so much. I think my father would be regrettable if it ended up with such a result." (Mr. Masumi)

"I miss my uncle."

Three months after the accident, I visited the hospital to visit him.



I'm regained consciousness, but I can't speak or move.



My family took turns taking care of Mr. Tomita, who was bedridden.



I received a message from the children saying, "Get better soon" and "I miss my uncle in the morning."



A bicycle that "drives while using a smartphone" has a great influence on the life of one person and family.



Seeing Mr. Tomita and his family caring hard, I strongly wanted to eliminate people who do not follow the rules.

Still, there is no end to “while smartphones”

"I knew it was something I shouldn't do ..."



"I was in a hurry and carelessly ..."



Bicycles "while smartphones" and right-hand traffic are prohibited by law.



However, do you not easily think, "It's okay because it's a slight violation" or "I don't bother anyone"?



According to the Hyogo Prefectural Police, there were about 1,400 accidents in the prefecture where there was a serious negligence in a bicycle last year.



The police are strengthening the crackdown on bicycles that do not follow the rules, triggered by Mr. Tomita's accident.



Five years ago, in 2016, the number of arrests was 2,638, but in the year when the accident occurred, it was 11,012.



Last year, it was a record high of 11,629 cases.



Of these, there were 455 violations related to mobile phones, such as making phone calls and looking at smartphone screens.

Family wishes "For everyone not to have a hard time"

It's been over two years since the accident.



At the age of 79, Tomita moved to a serviced housing for the elderly.



Although my body responds to the call, I still cannot speak or communicate.



I haven't been able to meet my family because of the infection control of the new corona.



My wife, Masuyo, and my daughter, Masumi, say that it's hard to be with them as a family.



Mr. Masumi entered this year and passed by an elementary school student who was a "smartphone", and remembered his father's accident, and he was angry and tears.



"I wrote a letter to the school and asked the children to teach me. Don't repeat the accident that kills your life like my father" (Mr. Masumi)

"I want each person to follow the rules and drive a bicycle with a sense of crisis and with caution. Let's work together to prevent accidents. That's all there is to it. I don't want things to happen again. It's really hard. Not only for me, but for everyone not to have a hard time. "(Mr. Masuyo)



It

's

convenient, but if you use it incorrectly, it can be a weapon.



Be sure to follow the rules and hold the steering wheel.



It is a wish of Mr. Tomita and his family.

Danger of smartphones while reducing the field of view by 95%

How much does "while smartphone" affect driving and is it dangerous?



Efforts have begun to lead to safe driving by having them experience it.

KDDI, a major telecommunications carrier, has developed VR = virtual reality goggles.

It has been rented free of charge since 2019 so that it can be used in class.



Drive while looking at your smartphone, press the switch at hand in response to a dangerous situation, and experience on the screen whether you can apply the brakes properly.



In VR, messages arrive one after another on the smartphone at hand while driving, and pedestrians come out from behind the car as you proceed while reading.



The average running speed of a bicycle is about 10 km, but most of the students who have experienced it are said to be unaware of the presence of pedestrians until just before, and the brakes will be delayed and they will hit.

(The story of a high school student who experienced it)


"The field of vision narrowed and I didn't notice the person who came out at all. I was very scared."


"It was more dangerous than I had imagined. However, I would like to be careful not to look at it anymore. ”According



to Professor Kazuhiro Kozuka of Aichi University of Technology, who studied the effect of operating a smartphone while moving, it usually attracts human attention. The field of view is about 6 meters to the left and right, but it shrinks to about 30 cm while looking at the smartphone, and it is said that you can not notice it until you get close to it.



(Professor Emeritus Kazuhiro Kozuka)


"Given the speed of a bicycle, you can't stop just before you notice a person, and" while using a smartphone "is extremely dangerous. Recently, smartphone map apps have become widespread. It's easy to get into a situation where you look at your smartphone. You should never look at your smartphone while driving, and if you want to check it, be sure to stop at a safe place before you do it. I have"