@Begin
@Participants:	NS004
@Age:	28
@Sex:	M
@L1:	AmE
@FatherL1:	AmE
@MotherL1:	AmE
@AcademicBakground:	PhD
@OtherLanguage:	French=8;none=3
@Topic:	crime
@Comments:	NoTitle
@Coder:	2006-10-19 DataInputBy MURAO Remi;
@Version:	2.0
*NS004:	A traffic accident in which a car runs a red light, hitting and killing a crossing child, is a form of manslaughter.
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*NS004:	Although traffic violations such as disobeying traffic signals or not fastening seatbelts are not generally thought of as crime, I would argue that because irresponsible actions like these put lives in immediate danger, they are deserving of a high degree of awareness.
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*NS004:	Sadly, my experience would indicate that this awareness is lacking in Japan.
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*NS004:	In this essay I would like to focus on three common traffic safety violations as examples of the need for a higher degree of safety awareness.
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*NS004:	First, there is the issue of stopping for traffic lights or stop signs.
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*NS004:	Since coming to Japan seven years ago, I have been startled at the incredible frequency with which drivers ignore traffic lights, and especially stop signs.
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*NS004:	Even drivers who obey stop signs frequently bring their cars to a sudden stop two meters past the white line, right in the middle of the crosswalk.
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*NS004:	My city has many corners with poor visibility, so it is absolutely essential to stop before the crosswalk to avoid hitting crossing pedestrians.
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*NS004:	Considering the great number of young children and elderly people walking or riding bicycles in this area of Japan, I would have expected that awareness of traffic light and stop sign safety would be higher than in my home country.
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*NS004:	In actuality, I have found it to be completely the opposite.
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*NS004:	Next, there is remarkably little awareness about the importance of seatbelts.
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*NS004:	In the event of an accident, both front and back-seat passengers are at risk of being thrown from the vehicle, or of cracking heads with each other.
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*NS004:	In other words, a seatbelt is important for the safety of all passengers, not only those in the front seats.
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*NS004:	In spite of this, Japanese law permits back-seat passengers not to wear a seatbelt, and in fact many people do not.
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*NS004:	As another example of poor safety awareness, I often see young children in the front passenger seat, beltless, and even playing or dancing on the seat.
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*NS004:	It is horrific to think that parents would be so reckless with the lives of their children.
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*NS004:	Finally, there is the point of drunk driving.
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*NS004:	I have asked many Japanese drivers who willingly drive while intoxicated, "Aren't you worried about driving drunk?
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*NS004:	h  In response, every one of them has mentioned concern about the 300,000 yen fine if caught, but not one has ever mentioned the increased risk, due to intoxication, of being involved in a fatal accident.
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*NS004:	Although my sample size is small (approximately twenty people), it would appear to me that there is little awareness or concern about the real danger of driving under intoxication.
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*NS004:	Traffic safety violations are not unique to Japan, and many are not intentional.
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*NS004:	I would argue, however, that awareness in Japan is much lower than it should be.
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*NS004:	Many people believe that they are excellent drivers, and therefore as long as they are being careful they will not have an accident.
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*NS004:	In fact, traffic accidents are just as easily caused by the mistakes of other drivers, and it is imprudent to believe that we always have control.
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*NS004:	Therefore, we should take every precaution to control the aspects of safety that are in our power to control.
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*NS004:	If current and future parents spent even one minute sitting and imagining their child dying because they were not in a seatbelt, or if they imagined hitting a child at a crosswalk because they did not stop properly, I think it would change the seriousness with which they regard traffic safety, and would result in the saving of lives.
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@End