When a bus stop is near a crosswalk, there is a high risk of serious accidents. The central and local governments, bus operators and other related entities must work together to take measures to ensure safety.
The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry has investigated the risk of accidents at about 400,000 bus stops nationwide. As a result, it has been found that there are about 2,000 bus stops where part of the body of a stopped bus remains within the crosswalk.
In these places, the body of the bus blocks out the view and pedestrians in the crosswalk are hard to see for the cars behind the bus and vehicles coming in the opposite direction. Accidents involving pedestrians being hit by vehicles have sometimes been fatal. Measures should be taken to protect pedestrians, such as by relocating these bus stops and crosswalks to other places.
The relocation of bus stops and other facilities requires coordination among businesses, police and local governments that manage roads. For that reason, the transport ministry has called for an establishment of a joint study panel comprising these relevant organizations in all prefectures to determine the danger level of each bus stop.
The study panels in each prefecture are urged to make steady efforts not only to identify bus stops for which priority measures should be taken, but also to select candidate sites for relocation.
In this case, the key is whether the understanding of residents and landowners of the relocation destination can be obtained. There was a case in which it took about two years for a relocation destination to finally be decided after the approval of the landowner. Relevant organizations need to tenaciously tackle the issue.
The study panels plan to conduct further investigations and make public the names and locations of dangerous bus stops by the end of the year. The plan is significant in that the danger is informed to residents and their understanding of the relocation is obtained.
What's the distance between a bus stop and a crosswalk that will ensure safety? Some prefectural police have their own standards, but more than half of them have yet to establish such criteria. The discussion at the study panels on this point is also desirable.
In reality, some bus stops are expected to be difficult to relocate. In such cases, it is important to make efforts to prevent accidents such as by installing traffic lights, or warning pedestrians with standing signboards or recorded voice announcement from buses.
In the five years through last year, more than 30% of the 6,000 accidents in which pedestrians were killed by cars occurred at or near crosswalks.
Automobiles are obliged to slow down or be temporarily stopped in front of a crosswalk, but in reality, there are quite a few cars that speed up to pass parked buses. Drivers should be thoroughly aware that pedestrians have right-of-way.
The amount of human and automobile traffic varies depending on the routes and the time of day. It is essential for the whole community, including residents who know the actual situation, to consider how to ensure safety related to buses that support daily life.
-- The original Japanese article appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun on Sept. 23, 2020.
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