3 days ago
Dart-out cases common among schoolchildren's traffic accidents in Japan
Cases of children running out into the street accounted for more than 30% of serious traffic accidents that killed or severely injured elementary school children in Japan, a government report showed Monday.
Of the 1,830 children who got into such accidents between 2020 and 2024, 613, or 33.5%, ran out into the street, according to the 2025 traffic safety white paper, adopted at the day's Cabinet meeting.
The report called for promoting lectures for parents and experience-based traffic safety education to prevent accidents.
According to the report, over 60% of serious accidents that killed or severely injured elementary school kids involved law violations.
Dart-out cases were followed by road-crossing violations, which accounted for 16.9%. Ignoring traffic lights came next at 3.2%, and playing on the street stood at 3.1%.
In contrast, about 60% of serious accidents involving 38,480 individuals across all age groups did not involve law violations.
The government implemented emergency measures following a fatal drunken driving accident in which a truck crashed into a group of elementary school children in Yachimata, Chiba Prefecture, in June 2021.
The white paper stated that 76,404 locations across Japan have fully or nearly completed safety measures, such as building sidewalks.
The central and local governments, police and schools will conduct joint inspections to enhance safety, the report added.
It also said that special areas called Zone 30, where vehicle speeds are limited to 30 kilometers per hour, had been established in 4,410 areas nationwide by the end of fiscal 2024.
