Defendant in Fatal Distracted Driving Case Admits to Changing Clothes While Driving About 48 Times
“In order to save time”
On April 13, during questioning of the defendant at the Kochi District Court, the defendant responded calmly to the prosecutor’s sharp questioning. The exchange was unusual and difficult to believe.
The defendant, Toshihiro Takezaki (61), has been charged with negligent driving causing death and injury after causing a head-on collision two years ago. On this day, the prosecutor repeatedly questioned him about “distracted driving” habits he allegedly engaged in while driving.
Prosecutor: How many times did you change clothes (shirt or pants) while driving in total?
Defendant: About two to three times a month. Over two years, that would be about 48 times, I think. I don’t remember exactly.
Prosecutor: Why did you do that while driving?
Defendant: To save time.
Prosecutor: You could do that after arriving, right? Why would you do such careless things?
Defendant: I’m sorry. To save time.
While distracted driving such as using smartphones has become a major social issue and penalties have been strengthened in recent years, it is shocking that a driver was even changing trousers on expressways.
The series of extreme driving behaviors described in court left those in the gallery reportedly speechless.
The accident occurred on September 21, 2024, at around 12:50 p.m. on the Kochi East Expressway. After finishing a round of golf that morning, the defendant was driving his vehicle (a Crown Crossover) when he suddenly crossed the center line and crashed head-on into an oncoming car carrying a family of four. The moment was clearly recorded on the victim’s dashcam.
As a result of the crash, the driver, Mr. Yasutomo Shinnō (33 at the time), and his wife Ayano (37 at the time) suffered serious injuries. Their one-year-old son, Kōei, who was in the back seat, died, and their daughter sitting next to him was lightly injured.
The indictment states that Takezaki was charged while out of custody 11 months after the accident.
According to the indictment, he is said to have overestimated a driving-assistance system installed in his vehicle called “Lane Tracing Assist (LTA),” which helps keep the car near the center of the lane. While driving, he allegedly unbuckled his seatbelt, reached toward the passenger seat in an attempt to change from dress shoes to sandals, and in doing so turned the steering wheel to the right, causing the vehicle to veer into the oncoming lane.
The defendant admitted the charges and expressed remorse in court, saying, “I am deeply sorry for causing this accident. I have done something irreversible. I believe I deserve to go to prison,” and he apologized directly to Mr. and Mrs. Shinnō in court. However, he repeatedly stated that he “has no memory of the accident” and “does not remember what he did inside the car,” and ultimately did not provide a clear account of the incident in his own words.
On this day, Ayano Shinnō, who lost her one-year-old child and was also seriously injured, appeared in court under the victim participation system and directly questioned the defendant:
“Why did you repeatedly engage in dangerous driving practices?”
“I was a lazy driver.”
In response to this question from the mother, which was asked in a strained voice, Takizaki, the defendant, replied while looking down:
“I was careless. I’m sorry.”
In recent years, the term autonomous driving has become increasingly common, but vehicles currently sold in Japan are limited to Level 1 and Level 2 driving assistance systems (with Level 5 being the highest), and they still require the driver’s supervision.
In other words, even if a vehicle is equipped with a function called “Lane Tracing Assist (LTA),” it is not designed on the assumption that the driver will take their hands off the steering wheel or, furthermore, change clothes or shoes while driving.
In recent years, there has been a growing call to treat such distracted driving, including smartphone use, as dangerous driving rather than mere negligence when it causes serious accidents. However, the bill to revise the dangerous driving causing death or injury law, approved by the Cabinet at the end of March this year, did not include a category for distracted driving.
At a press conference held after the trial that day, the victim’s father, Yuta, made the following appeal:
“During today’s trial, I was shaking with anger. It also came out that he brought low-alcohol beer into the golf course and drank a sip or two, which showed he was fully prepared to drink and drive. I even thought he should show us in front of us how he could possibly change his pants while driving. How is it that my son was killed by such a person? How much more humiliation and patience are we supposed to endure?
And the fact that such dangerous distracted driving was not included in the category of ‘dangerous driving causing death or injury’ in this latest legal revision is, once again, extremely unreasonable. Once a life is taken, it never comes back. I sincerely believe that everyone needs to think more about this, and I intend to continue doing what I can for my deceased son.”
The next trial date is June 3, when proceedings are scheduled to conclude.
Reporting and writing： Mika Yanagihara (Journalist) PHOTO： Courtesy of the bereaved family, etc.