Drunken Japanese commuters 'sleepwalking' on to train tracks
Most alcohol-induced falls in train stations involve passengers who are disorientated
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 08 April, 2015, 1:29am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 08 April, 2015, 1:29am
Agence France-Presse in Tokyo
Most alcohol-induced falls in train stations involve passengers who are disorientated. The finding has sparked a review of the placement of benches.
Most of the drunk train passengers who fall from platforms in Japan do not stagger along and topple off, but rise from an alcohol-induced slumber on benches and march headlong on to the tracks, a study has found.
The finding has sparked a review of the placement of benches, with seats in one large station rotated 90 degrees to face along the platform instead of towards the tracks, in the hope that booze-fuelled sleepwalkers will come to no harm.
Japan's late-drinking "salary men" - suited city workers - are well-served by extensive urban train networks that whisk them back home at the end of the night.
While the worst that happens to most corporate warriors is nodding off and missing their stop, a small number are hurt or killed in stations every year by plunging on to the tracks.
In a bid to reduce the number of casualties, operator West Japan Railways (JR West) examined all 3,300 falls that occurred in their service area during 2012, using footage from CCTV cameras and focusing on the approximately 1,900 that involved alcohol. Their probe contained some startling findings.
Only 10 per cent of tipsy tumblers had weaved their way along a platform before stepping off the edge. A further three out of 10 had been stationary when their sense of balance gave up on them and sent them crashing on to the tracks.
The remaining 60 per cent had been slumped semi-conscious or unconscious on a bench and had suddenly risen and rushed forwards, plunging on to the rails, the study found.
It appeared, according to the report's authors, they were suffering from "confusion of their situation awareness because of the influence of alcohol". In other words, they didn't seem to know where they were.
