Train derails in Hyogo prefecture killing at least 49 people

[Ikyoto]

The images on TV are disturbing, but I've always hated the use of TV news for tragedy. I hope the families of the dead will at LEAST recieve compensation for the wages their family members will have brought in and the cost of a decient funeral.

[lexico]

any foreigner living in Japan...will tell you what a godsend the train system is over here; punctual to the minute, and very rarely late.

The train overran a stop at the previous station and so it backtracked, so I guess the driver was in a hurry because the train was running late.

Thinking about it, once or twice I have felt the train a bit fast around that area, perhaps because the next stop, Amagasaki, is a rather busy station (8 platforms), so quite often if the train is only just a minute late during the rush hour, it can miss its slot resulting in a 5-10 minute delay waiting for a new slot. There seems to be some suspicions in this case that that was perhaps a cause of the speeding.

If these observations are true, then the accident is more due to the extreme unwillingness to accept a mistake in the past and accept the consequences . Anybody who's driven long distance on a tight schedule will know how hard it is to make up for lost time. My rule of thumb says I have to speed up 25% or more to make up for a 10% time loss. Maybe these proverbs can help ease people's tenseness about being late.

"Better late than never."
"Better late & alive than dead & punctual."
"Accept who you are."
"Shi* happens."
"Who cares ?"

I see the same mindset that has caused other weird behavior such as denying one's past action; but I too have made mistakes of similar nature. 30 min late, take a short cut, 2 hour late or get lost forever ! Stupid is as stupid does ! Just admit I'm a lazy person and things would have turned out 1,000 times better. Likewise, an incompetent-or-absent-minded driver is better than incompetent-&-too-sensitive-to-take-cricicism-&-derailing driver.

"I accept that I am a bit incompetent. I accept the criticism with ease. By being late, at least I didn't kill you. And my mother and girlfriend still think I'm cute."

Something's not being taught in school. This accident should go into every textbook of civics &/or history. At least the railway service people (plus amusement park people) should get some safety training in pre-hazard management.