Company president, 2 drivers arrested after trucks tailgated other vehicles to avoid paying road tolls

It said ETCs do not detect a vehicle when it is almost within touching distance of the vehicle in front of it.

Whose fault is that?

a 55-year-old company president and two employees

Sounds like a 3-employee company.

The Central Nippon Expressway Company Limited (NEXCO) has been providing information to Kanagawa Prefectural Police about vehicles illegally passing through toll booths since the autumn of 2020.

Every ETC lane in Japan is covered by cameras so why has it taken the police so long, almost 3 years, to catch them?

I feel like I see tailgating on a regular basis here, often when likeminded drivers form a conga line as they race through amber or red lights together.

Make the main roads tool free too. Then no more criminal energy is needed to first establish that money scheme, cashing in double from people who already have paid taxes for transport ministry, btw even all people without any trucks, cars and heavy bikes pay for roads and highways too, as well no more criminal energy needed to trick the established toll system by such truck tailgating for saving a few business costs.

So what is the charge for which they've been arrested? Following too closely is naturally a punishable road law violation, but since you're not required to leave a specified interval between you and the vehicle in front of you when going through an ETC checkpoint nor does the gate/arm have to close between vehicles, aside from a confession how would they prove that this was intentionally done? Of course this company abused the limitations of the ETC system, but I'd think that the evidence would be mostly circumstantial from a purely legal standpoint.

what a police "speed"....

just 3 years?

Driving in Japan is crazy expensive and toll roads are difficult if not impossible to avoid.

Numerous things that need to be fixed here, such as fixing the toll areas so this tailgating does not work; removing the toll areas completely; and improving the lousy police system that took three years and 850 instances of a crime before they put down their ramen and picked up a pen.

Maybe after the government announced expressways wouldn't be free until at least the 22nd century he took matters into his own hands. Fast and the frivolous.

I once lost my highway ticket mid journey years back (before I got ETC), and when I went to pay at the toll gate I was took into the office and told I'd have to pay the whole fare from Kyushu to Nagano (I'd come from near Nagoya).

The boys searched my car and couldn't find it. But they did find a KFC receipt from a few hours earlier from a branch near Nagoya. They rang the shop who confirmed that a couple of gaijin had been in that afternoon, so I got away with it. Fair play to them for showing a bit of imagination and lenience.

I found the highway ticket under the seat a few weeks later.

I’m guessing the 3 years was so that enough ¥ theft racked up to make the charges worth it. If they caught them after 5 or even 10 times it would amount to only a slap on the wrist.

This only makes sense if the following vehicle does not have an ETC installed. And it also would explain the time it has taken to figure it out as well, as if the following vehicle did not have an ETC reader, there would be no record of it entering the toll road at any point, as it would have to have had the driver take a ticket, then hook up with another driver when exiting.

The "ticket" would have taken time to be processed as missing, depending upon where the vehicles entered and exited the toll road.

Stop and consider the distance travelled, where they entered and exited, and it is pretty easy to understand why it took so long to build a case.

Oh and I have tailgated any number of people going through the ETC gates, and my "reader" always pings as being read. So I really have to believe that this company and the president got this down to a science and figured out a way to scam the system, figuring they would not get caught. But they did.

This only makes sense if the following vehicle does not have an ETC installed.

That's what I assumed, but it's a huge risk if the following vehicle can't find a big truck to tailgate every time it exits. And there will still be an unpaid ticket that a camera has recorded.

According to the article, "It (NEXCO) said ETCs do not detect a vehicle when it is almost within touching distance of the vehicle in front of it."

I've noticed that my ETC warns me if my card is not inserted as I approach the gate, not as I reach it. A few times I've scrambled to slot it in, but I've always had time.

What happens if a vehicle enters the expressway using ETC but exits by tailgating (like these fellows)? Does NEXCO have a system that can log vehicles that don't exit?

I wonder how precise their sensors & systems are?

Make it FREEEEEEEEE it tons of problems are gone, No ETC, NO STAFF in booths, NO maintenance of these exits, people can move faster and get things done, family and friends will get connected again, trucking and moving companies will reduce fees , so many benefits to the general public and businesses that makes collecting the fees a shame.

Just do it Japan.

Make it FREEEEEEEEE it tons of problems are gone

As well as ¥600bn in annual revenue that pays for expressway development, improvement, and repair. You realize someone has to pay for that, right? You want it to be paid from our taxes then?

What is the point other than to advertise or seek publicity for the product? I don't think any money changed hands.

It will be, at least that is the plan. There was even an article about it here as well, recently too if I recall correctly.

Just dont hold your breath waiting for it, scheduled for 2115 or so I believe it was. Originally scheduled for 2075 and extended for some reason or another. (I am not joking either!)

What is the point other than to advertise or seek publicity for the product? I don't think any money changed hands.

It will be, at least that is the plan. There was even an article about it here as well, recently too if I recall correctly.

Just dont hold your breath waiting for it, scheduled for 2115 or so I believe it was. Originally scheduled for 2075 and extended for some reason or another. (I am not joking either!)

Why arrested? Surely this is a civil offence. Tomei Expressway is free to file a lawsuit against them for a fine, that's it.

Unless of course, they bribed the govt

Why arrested? Surely this is a civil offence.

@桜川雪

I would say it's conspiracy.

If it was just a couple times, sure, perhaps civil, but more than 800 times is a plan to avoid the fees. It's not so much the lost money, it's the scheming that is illegal.

It said ETCs do not detect a vehicle when it is almost within touching distance of the vehicle in front of it.

Whose fault is that?

If you are implying that the design of the ETC system is inherently flawed, consider that vehicles such as semi-trailers and SUVs towing jet skis, etc exist.

The system must be designed to tolerate a slight gap between objects passing it.

I’m sure it problem can be addressed by some super fancy AI solution, but the costs to overhaul a perfectly functional system that has been operating since the late 90’s would outweigh the benefits of catching a few cheaters.

Why arrested? Surely this is a civil offence. Tomei Expressway is free to file a lawsuit against them for a fine, that's it.

Refusal to pay fares is a form of theft, and with the number of repeated offenses, the police would certainly be involved.

I’ve seen this many times. It should be no surprise considering the ridiculous cost of highway tolls.

It should be no surprise considering the ridiculous cost of highway tolls.

Tokyo to Nagoya is about 7,000Y not the cheapest, but at least there no ridiculous potholes big enough to swallow a VW Golf.

Of course it is Aichi, the Florida of Japan

I think Hyogo or Chiba are more deserving of that honor.

Toll fees are ignoring the fact that people are paying 30% to 40% tax as if government is working with them equally every day. Dangerous drivings and actions should be punished, but i fully understand people trying to do all they can to avoid unfair fees and charges.

USNinJapan2

...aside from a confession how would they prove that this was intentionally done? 

As the owner confessed, it's a moot point.

*"The president of the company....was quoted by police as saying his drivers had tailgated larger trucks at least 850 times times since 2020 in order to cut back on operating costs, Kyodo News reported."*

桜川雪

Why arrested? Surely this is a civil offence. Tomei Expressway is free to file a lawsuit against them for a fine, that's it.

Theft of services is considered a criminal offense in most modern societies.

Roy Sophveason

As well as ¥600bn in annual revenue that pays for expressway development, improvement, and repair. You realize someone has to pay for that, right? You want it to be paid from our taxes then?

Tolls are understandable to cover maintenance and repair. The expressways here are generally in excellent condition, nary a pothole in sight. But, they are way too high. They should probably be halved.

in the u.s. it isn’t a crime to tail gate but I feel if it was there would be a lot less accidents .

But, they are way too high.

You may feel that way, but their toll revenue is actually not even high enough to cover the cost directly. It's just about enough to maintain a complicated bonds, loans, and leases financing scheme to come up with the money they need.

Nexco's annual reports are a bit difficult to read but seem to suggest that, in order to be cost-covering, toll fees would have to be three times as high as they already are.

They don't, and aren't even allowed to, make a profit off tolls.