Word to the wise, be careful.

recently a dear friend of mine who retired form the navy about 10 years ago was sent back to the states after a total of 15 years of living in Japan. during that 15 years period other than a parking ticket or two he never once got in trouble, no DUI's no fights, nothing, nada.

Yet he was promnptly thrown under the bus by the powers to be when he got rearended by a scooter one morning. Even though the scooter hit his car in the rear as it atttempted to pass him on the left while he was making a left hand turn, he had to go to traffic court, the photos told the tale, an impact on the rear bumper.

The usual threats from the japanese prosecutor "if the judge finds you guilty when you have plead not guilty, it will be worse for you"

the not quite so good advice from the base "just plead guilty and you will get a suspended sentence with no jail time"

the final result, a suspended sentence....all ends well right?

Not quite, their is a CNFJ instruction that states that any SOFA member under a suspended sentence will be sent back to the states for their own good (to avoid possible revocation of the suspended sentence if they break the law in some minor fashion.) Of course the base will not tell you this as they want you to plead guilty so they can get the case off of the books, less problems with the host country, yada yada etc.

So a man who works as a productive member of the community who has never been in trouble to date is shipped back to the states.....

many people do not realize that the japanese road law states unequivically that scooters cannot pass a MOVING vehicle on the left. and that any accident that involves such maneuvers the fault CAN be assigned ot the scooter. This does not mean that it will, but it is not an open and close case as the base would have you believe.

FYI first guilty offence through the japanese legal system that does not involve a death, drugs, or felony level theft, is 95% of the time suspended with court costs provided that you do not act a fool in front of the Judge.

Why should you plead guilty? you should not. (unless you know that you are!) The net result is the same if they find you guilty, a suspended sentence and your sent back. On the other hand if the judge sides with you, you might end up with the entire case dismissed and the possibility of the offending scooter owner paying for your damages, time off etc.

FYI the average Japanese National (under similiar circumstances) will plead not guilty and has a 50% chance of winning.

Remember, The bases only concern is how they look in the media....not how you fare

Ken,

Great Information and I have to agree with what you wrote.
I drive on a daily basis, and have for nearly 9 years in Japan.
Its a little scary at first until you really understand the road conditions, and many people dont realize the sacrifices that families can have from a very small accident, or incident while driving. I have had several friends get into bad situations because of driving in Japan.
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Here are a few posts concerning this topic received from my facebook wall:
http://www.facebook.com/yokosukabase

1) Yep, yep. Driving here is a huge risk. We rent once in a while, though. Biggest fear while driving? That someone will hit us and we'll be paying for years. I'm always whipping my head around!

2) I've been driving here close to twenty years, had a couple of fender benders nothing serious, I would rather drive here any day than in San Diego or any other large city Stateside. At least every Japanese on the rode has attended a mandatory driving school, whereas in the state Jr. can get the keys and start driving as soon as he/she turns sixteen.

I think there's more here than meets the eye. Eight years ago I had a car turn right in front of my Biggest Harley You Can Buy even though I had all the lights on. Hit the car broad-side (my right to his left side) at a relatively slow 15km, rolled over the hood and landed on my back on the deck. Bruises only, but the cops decided it was 80% my fault because the light had just turned yellow as I was going through, and, as a professional driver, I should have seen what was coming. But we didn't go to court. Why your friend chose to go to court is the question. It's an option, not a requirement. A good insurance agent would have advised (and probably did) him not to go to court. As a matter of fact, this is the first time I've heard of anyone trying to fight an accident in court and I've been driving here since 1976. I had one no-fault accident when I got rear-ended at a stop light and there were cars in front of me so I had no place to maneuver.

For those of you who insist on buying your car insurance on base you are buying the insurance, not the advise that goes along with it. Yes, it's convenient, but there's no personalization. I'd say ask your friends about a good off-base agency but it's gotten to the point where very few people use them anymore. Personally, I've been a faithful customer of Tanaka Insurance for over 20 years. He's right outside the gate and has never steered me wrong.

Bottom line, here, though, if it hurts when you do that, don't do that. Unless serious personal injury is involved, your agent recommends it, you can afford the cost of a good layand it's your choice whether or not to go to court, don't do it. You'll lose. Period. Accident investigation is a science here and there's no way you're going to disprove the cops.

Ken, I forgot this part:

The prosecutor will not take a case to court unless there is a 95% chance of conviction. And it's quite (very highly) possible that you will spend your time in jail awaiting trial or until the prosecutor makes a decision whether or not to go to court or they decide it's okay for you to get out for a while.

Scooters/motorcycles ARE permitted to pass on the left when traffic is stopped or traffic flow is restricted. Ya won't see the cops do it because they want to set a good example.

Hey, Adam. Howzabout a "Tips For Safe Driving in Japan" thing. I've got lots and lots and lots.

Hey Beck - Thanks for the tip about Tanaka Insurance Co. I've been using AIU along the base fence line by the BOQ for the entire time I've been here (ten years) and never had to do anything, other than go over there and pay up every year. What are you hearing about their reputation for providing sage counsel in situations like this? BTW, I've never been in an accident, drive slow as snail, and only use my car once a week.

Sorry, Mike. Haven't been back here in a while. I honestly haven't heard anything about on-base insurance other than for sales. Before Tanaka-san I was with AIU when they were across the street from Nakayama Motors just outside the gate. (The same one you use.) The little ol' lady who ran the place 20+ years ago was mean, crotchety and had a way of shutting people up. She was an AIU GOD! All 4 feet of her; we called her "The Dwarf" (not to her face, of course). She knew her stuff and you never questioned her. Actually, you couldn't question her. She wouldn't allow it. When she left I took my business elsewhere to another agency before I ended up at Tanaka. He will actually talk to the opposing insurance agent and try and settle things to everyone's mutual satisfaction. I could have sent that driver to prison but he was retired and I felt sorry for him. What'd he do in return? Went all the way and got my rates jacked up. The bastidge!

Sounds to me like you're heading for an accident! Drive slow? How about driving to meet the conditions? Live on base, doncha? Driving once a week doesn't keep you in very good practice. Repetition is the key to learning, remember? Besides, driving makes your mind work because you really have to pay attention.

I have a question on a traffick accident that I was involved in a year ago. I was on my way to base, turning right off of rt 16 coming from Kurihama. I was going the speed limit of course, and saw an SUV coming pretty fast but expected the guy to stop since he had a stop sign. I slowed a little just in case he didn't, and he didn't! Thank God I slowed down, he hit the passenger side front end of my car really hard! This dude was going pretty fast, anyways, me and my then 14 month old ended up being ok, just scared! It was handled really good by the MAs and translator that showed up, along with the local cop. When I went to the police station to give my report, the translator asked if I smelled the beer of this man's breathe. Im not sure it was just improper English. I said no, but then again, I didn't really get that close the man. He was like 70 yrs. old, driving with a suspended license. I was asked what should be done to the old man as punishment. By the way, the translator said the old man was willing to pay for everything. I said as long as he takes responsibility and pays for the damages he incurred, then thats good enough. I have yet to hear anything from the police station. I have a note, but its written in kanji if someone is willing to translate it for me. I have liability insurance from here on base, and they sent me a check $1000, which didn't even pay for my rental car. Im just curious if there's anything I can do to get what I was promised. I'm not gonna freak out if it's too late, just curious really.

Oh yeah, just cause my car was moving, it was 20% my fault. And my car was totalled. He had a huge brush guard that did all the damage, there also damage to the side of my car where it spun around and hit his vehicle.

Just curious Noemi, why have you waited a year and not had the note translated yet? Seems pretty casual attitude for what sounds like a significant accident. If you got $1000 from your insurance, I guess the Japanese guy paid nothing at all which is pretty extraordinary in Japan. The old guy should have pretty much put you back 100%.

Re: The original post, we need to all understand that base legal is not there to represent you, they represent the base. They act in the best interests in the base which normally is to clear up the matter with as little fuss as possible. If you want good representation & legal advice, you need to hire a lawyer. Trying to get good advice for free... well, you get what you pay for. Sorry to hear about your friend who got sent home. That really stinks!!

ThaiGuy, I forgot about the note. I was looking through some folders and found it along with all my receipts. I know, many others would be freaking out, but I just can't bring myself to demand money from anybody, whether or not it's rightfully deserved. Moreover, I trusted that the guy would pay me since he said he would. Naive? Sure, oh well. Lesson learned.

Local police's job is to file the accident, the fact. That's all. They will not care if the old guy pay for you or not.

As you said, police decided 20% was your fault, so 80% was the guy's fault. That was filed by police.

If it costs you to recover your vehicle, let's say, 1,000,000 Yen, the guy should pay 80% of 1,000,000 Yen.

In Japan, most driver has "unlimited" type of insurance. I suppose the guy has as well. What you should do is to contact the insurance company's person in charge to the accident. I suppose the note you got was the contact information of such insurance related person. Insurance company uses filed information (by police) to decide how much percentage will they pay. 800,000 Yen will be paid by insurance, what you need to do is talk with them.

I'm wondering if the old guy's insurance company would cover this, considering that the old guy was driving on a suspended license.

I just remembered that his insurance had been expired for a few weeks when he hit me.