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.
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
Saw something like this on the news once.
Truck Fail.
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.
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).
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 agree, apperently, according to this article, he knew about these broken bolts
its like trying to fly with a plane with only one wing