slagjumper
12-10-06, 06:57 PM
Huh? I guess that we make provisions for kids, not surprising that the Japanese would do the same for the senile. Good thing for the motorcyclist that the guy was not a bit older.
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20061209p2a00m0na003000c.html
Motorcyclist deemed not at fault after collision with erratic bicyclist
OSAKA -- A motorcyclist has been found not at fault for accidentally hitting a bicyclist after it made a sudden turn, after deeming that the bicycle rider wasn't too old to pay attention to the traffic, an appeal court has ruled.
The Osaka High Court overturned a lower court ruling that found the 23-year-old mechanic guilty of professional negligence resulting in injury and which ordered him to pay an 80,000 yen fine.
"The man on the bicycle (who was 57 years old at the time of the accident) made the sudden right turn, despite being not so old that he could conceivably take unforeseeable action," Presiding Judge Ichiro Nakasone said as he handed down the ruling.
The point at issue in the appeal trial was whether the defendant could have predicted that the bicycle would suddenly change direction.
On Dec. 8, 2003, the defendant was riding his motorcycle on a road in Daito, Osaka Prefecture, when a bicycle traveling ahead in the same direction suddenly turned right, ignoring a red light, according to the ruling. The motorcyclist couldn't avoid a collision, and the bicyclist suffered serious injuries that took six months to heal.
In July this year, the Osaka District Court convicted him of professional negligence resulting in injury, saying that the motorcyclist failed to foresee that the man on the bicycle might act erratically because of his advanced age. (Mainichi)
December 9, 2006
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20061209p2a00m0na003000c.html
Motorcyclist deemed not at fault after collision with erratic bicyclist
OSAKA -- A motorcyclist has been found not at fault for accidentally hitting a bicyclist after it made a sudden turn, after deeming that the bicycle rider wasn't too old to pay attention to the traffic, an appeal court has ruled.
The Osaka High Court overturned a lower court ruling that found the 23-year-old mechanic guilty of professional negligence resulting in injury and which ordered him to pay an 80,000 yen fine.
"The man on the bicycle (who was 57 years old at the time of the accident) made the sudden right turn, despite being not so old that he could conceivably take unforeseeable action," Presiding Judge Ichiro Nakasone said as he handed down the ruling.
The point at issue in the appeal trial was whether the defendant could have predicted that the bicycle would suddenly change direction.
On Dec. 8, 2003, the defendant was riding his motorcycle on a road in Daito, Osaka Prefecture, when a bicycle traveling ahead in the same direction suddenly turned right, ignoring a red light, according to the ruling. The motorcyclist couldn't avoid a collision, and the bicyclist suffered serious injuries that took six months to heal.
In July this year, the Osaka District Court convicted him of professional negligence resulting in injury, saying that the motorcyclist failed to foresee that the man on the bicycle might act erratically because of his advanced age. (Mainichi)
December 9, 2006