Society | Police seek further charges against man caught on video driving on sidewalk

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:11 JST, October 14, 2022

TAKAMATSU — Public outrage over a video posted on Twitter of a vehicle being driven on the sidewalk has led Kagawa prefectural police to send papers on a self-described construction worker to the public prosecutor’s office on Friday.

The video posted on Twitter by a witness of a microvan racing on the sidewalk got more than 7 million views and drew a barrage of criticism against the driver.

According to investigators, the 21-year-old man, who has already been arrested for driving without a license, is suspected of driving the automobile on a sidewalk in Takamatsu at around 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 23.

The suspect was said to have driven onto the sidewalk to pass several vehicles that were stopped ahead of him at a red light. The man admitted to the allegation, saying, “I hate stopping at red lights.”

In the video posted that day, the microvan is seen driving tens of meters down the sidewalk for 14 seconds. “I want the police to deal with this.” was among the comments.

Using the video for confirmation, the prefectural police found the microvan in Sakaide, Kagawa Prefecture, on Sept. 27. The suspect was found to not have a driver’s license and was arrested on the spot.