In the early morning of the 25th, a man driving a bicycle was killed when a passenger car collided with a bicycle that seemed to have entered by mistake on the Metropolitan Expressway in Yokohama City.
It is believed that the collision occurred near the junction of the road, and the police are investigating the circumstances of the entry in detail.

Shortly after 25 a.m. on the 3th, a passenger car collided with a bicycle near the Kinko Junction of the Yokobane Line of the Metropolitan Expressway in Nishi-ku, Yokohama City, killing a man who was driving the bicycle.

According to the police, when a passenger car was traveling on the Yokobane Line, it seems that a bicycle came out of the Mitsuzawa Line merging from the right side and collided.

The man who was driving the car told investigators, "I couldn't stop because the bicycle appeared in front of me."

The deceased man is believed to be a 31-year-old man living in the United States from his belongings, and is believed to have participated in the world competition of "messengers" to deliver luggage by bicycle held in Yokohama City.

The police believe that they entered the Metropolitan Expressway by mistake based on the situation at the scene, and are investigating the details of the entry and the accident, such as checking the security camera footage.

Due to the accident, the Metropolitan Expressway was closed for about 8 hours near the Kinko Junction in Yokohama City.

Dead man to participate in the world competition of "Messenger"

According to the police, the deceased man is believed to have participated in the world competition of "Messengers" held in Yokohama City to deliver luggage by bicycle from his belongings.

According to the tournament's website, the event was held from September 9 to 20, and various events were scheduled at Nissan Stadium and other venues, including a race to compete for the speed of delivering luggage by bicycle.

Participants were warned about the traffic rules of the Japan, such as "In principle, bicycles should drive on the left side of the roadway" and "Wearing a helmet is obligatory."

Trend of increasing false intrusions due to the spread of navigation apps

According to the Metropolitan Expressway Company, there were 1 cases of bicycles, pedestrians, and mopeds mistakenly entering the Metropolitan Expressway in the past fiscal year,
including 250 cases of mopeds, 124 cases of pedestrians
, and 45 cases

of bicycles.

With the spread of smartphone navigation apps, there is an increasing trend of erroneous entry,
such as ▽ bicycles and pedestrians using cars to find routes, and moped motorcycles using highways to find routes, and
last year,
Of the 419 cases of bicycles and mopeds, the use of navigation apps was confirmed in 295 cases, which is about 6%.

In addition, there are many cases where foreigners
who do not understand the traffic rules of the Japan, elderly
people with dementia,
and drunken people mistakenly enter.

How to prevent accidental intrusion

In order to prevent accidental entry, the Metropolitan Expressway Company warns people by saying "Pedestrians, bicycles, and mopeds are off-limits" in large prominent letters at the entrances and exits, and "DO NOT ENTER" in English and "Don't Enter" in hiragana so that foreigners can understand it.

In addition, some entrances and exits are equipped with cameras that detect pedestrians, bicycles, and mopeds, and if a false entry is detected, an audible or electronic bulletin board will warn them.

Since there have been a number of cases of erroneous entry using smartphone navigation apps, the Metropolitan Expressway Company has decided that people
who ride bicycles and mopeds should thoroughly
search for routes in settings that do not use expressways. ▽ We urge people not to focus on the screen but to check the signs and warnings carefully.

If you see an erroneous entry, please call the road emergency number #9910.