A truck driver has been jailed after his tire came loose and smashed into a bus, killing one and injuring three, in an accident as unusual as it is unpleasant.
The accident occurred in 2008, and the trial of the truck driver recently concluded; the driver, a 38-year-old man, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 20 months in prison, along with a ￥200,000 fine, some 8 months less than the prosecution sought.
The judge presiding castigated the driver: “You’ve excessively damaged road safety consciousness.”
The cause of the loose tire was determined to be 2 broken bolts inside the car’s rear left axle that had been negligently overlooked by the driver.
Once the large truck was out on the freeway, the tire came loose from its axle and collided forcefully with a Kinki Nippon tour bus, killing the driver and injuring passengers.
Via Asahi.
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Saw something like this on the news once.
Something like this actually happened in the Washington DC area last month, where a tire came off of a towed truck, bounced across the highway before smashing in the a car driven by a pregnant woman, killing her... :(
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/22/AR2009012203972.html
Truck Fail.
All aboard teh Otaku Bus!!!
That doesn't sound very fair...
I question the mental state of the judge. It was clearly an accident.
Although I agree “You’ve excessively damaged road safety consciousness.” might be taking things a little too far.
After all, with accidents like http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2008/08/11/girl-learner-splatters-3-passengers-in-high-speed-crash/ this happening, it's not like the truck driver actually broke the law.
He just got unlucky.
I don't think there are any standard methods to check wheel bolt durability, before you set out. Short of going to a mechanic.
Ehh...at least in the USA you are supposed to check and see whether or not your vehicle is safe to drive every time. Durability is one thing, but the judge probably had the impression that the wheel studs were worn in a way that "should have been obvious". Having said that I also don't see how it would "be obvious" that the wheel was in danger of snapping off the bolts.
Actually, the law says TO A REASONABLE DEGREE. Most states define that as making sure that your windows are clear of any frost, that you have side-view mirrors (on a car that comes with them standard), etc.
Not something like examining for BROKEN BOLTS on a tire.... which, by the way, is the responsibility of the person who does the MAINTENANCE on the truck, 18 wheeler or otherwise.
The judge should have asked him "Who the heck does your maintenance?!" and gone after them! Now, if he does his OWN maintenance and has changed his OWN tires.... then I can understand this ruling, because he would have had to have been BLIND to not see those broken bolts.... unless they broke at speed, which has happened to more people than I would like to mention who drive 18 wheelers and other big trucks for a living.
Is the bus ok?
LOL
That bus is made of so much win.
party bus desu~
Itasha liner ftw!
Sucks about the accident, though.
Only thing about the liner is it needs moar desu.
Hmm, that would be one of the stranger ways to die. "oh look, thats a......"
Bad that people got killed, but I imagine it could of been a lot worse, what with a truck being involved.
Can a tire really kill? Any description on the force in which the tire LAZER-d at the bus? Or did the driver really drove a (monster) truck?
watch some mythbusters, a tire can decapitate a person
It's also, or at least was, very cery common for racers to be decapitated by a stray wheel in F1.
I think it's less common now though, because they channged the way they fix them, to prevent such accidents.
I gran was killed by a motor cycle tyre than had been rather discourtiously discarded. So, the answer is yes.
i agree, apperently, according to this article, he knew about these broken bolts
its like trying to fly with a plane with only one wing
It says he 'overlooked' it, as in failed to notice, so he probably wasn't aware. But routine maintanance is required for trucks. It's the same as a plane crashing because a screw was loose somewhere. Saying it was an accident doesn't cut it. Love your machine and it will love you back.
Has anyone considered other possbilities? Such as:
(a) the company who _owned_ the truck was being cheap by omitting reasonable maintenance and inspections? (The driver is just a driver, not a mechanic! Or is this untrue in Japan?)
(b) the truck manufacturer made a truck with a defective design, and/or defective materials. I recall some years back there was a scandal where a major Japanese vehicle manufacturer tried covering up defects in their small lorries which resulted in wheel-detachment-and-consequent-accidents-ending-in-death. I think the company eventually admitted fault, apologized profusely, and some executives resigned or were fired, etc.
Actualy, it's fiarly normal, even in England for a truck driver to own their own truck/do mentanence.
Typicaly, you are responsible for everything to do with that truck, from maintanence to fuel.
Although genraly costs are covered by your contractor.
Yes, most people own their own trucks.... but they do NOT do their own maintenance.... they pay someone to do it for them in most cases, or at least that is how it is done in the United States.
I'm sure they looked into those before they sentenced him, otherwise he had the WORST DEFENSE LAWYER EVER. As he was still sentenced, he probably privately owned the truck, maybe he was a one man moving company or something.
I don't see how WORST DEFENSE LAWYER EVER could be an understatement. I even capitalized it D:
Uh........ Worst defense lawyer ever in this case is an understatement. I can think of 5 or so alternative explanations that do NOT involve negligence on this guys part.
Number one: the bolts broke on their own because of defects in the bolts.... and an inspection would not have helped. Unless they did that special examination with microscopes.... they cannot know that, and that is NOT a normal part of an investigation.
Number two: he was paying someone else to do his maintenance, and they 'cheaped out' by using bolts that were defective (maybe not knowing that they were defective) or had been priorly used.
Number three: the bolts just broke at speed because of tire imbalance or other factors (this happens more often on big 18 wheelers than you would like to believe, according to my uncle's friend who used to drive 18 wheelers).
Negligence leading to accidental injury or death's always been illegal. That's manslaughter. I actually can't believe he's only getting 20 months and a 5k fine. Kind of cheap for a human life, I'd be rolling in my grave if they didn't at least add on a hundred hours community service.
2K*
No, he deserved to be jailed. If you drive commercial, you cant take anything lightly. A broken bolt = broken vehicle.
But again, you are forgetting that something like this is not necessarily going to be obvious, and the law says, even over in Japan, that something has to be OBVIOUS danger for someone to be convicted of a crime like involuntary manslaughter.
Personally, I would appeal the case if I was him. Sure, there is a lot of 'outrage' over this.... but outrage makes for stupid juries and stupid judges. This is a textbook case of both the former and the latter.
People died-desuuuuuuuuuuuuu
I feel bad because that made me laugh-.-
... dont feel bad because it made you laugh feel bad because some one died and you laughed
people die when they are killed