![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Japanese - Champion Catnappers
Feb. 27th, 2003 09:42 pmSomething I have experienced here is that the Japanese are able to catnap anywhere and everywhere. This includes in class, on the bus, in a meeting, at a club - you name the place. This latest report from Reuters doesn't surprise me, but it does scare me.
* * *
Thursday February 27, 08:29 AM
High speed nap snares bullet-train driver
TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese bullet-train driver has brought new meaning to the phrase "a quick nap".
The 33-year-old, whose name has not been released, was being questioned by police after falling asleep for about eight minutes at the controls of one of the country's high-speed bullet trains on Wednesday.
West Japan Railways said the train may have been travelling at up to 270 kph (167 mph) while the driver was slumbering.
No one was hurt because an automatic control system kicked in, bringing the train to a halt at the next station, Okayama, 340 miles west of Tokyo.
The incident came to light after the dozing driver was awakened by a conductor.
"We are very shocked," said Kosuke Sugiyama of the company's public relations office. "Our business is all about passengers trusting us enough to travel on our trains."
Japan's bullet trains have a reputation for punctuality timed to the second and drivers are a highly trained elite.
* * *
Thursday February 27, 08:29 AM
High speed nap snares bullet-train driver
TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese bullet-train driver has brought new meaning to the phrase "a quick nap".
The 33-year-old, whose name has not been released, was being questioned by police after falling asleep for about eight minutes at the controls of one of the country's high-speed bullet trains on Wednesday.
West Japan Railways said the train may have been travelling at up to 270 kph (167 mph) while the driver was slumbering.
No one was hurt because an automatic control system kicked in, bringing the train to a halt at the next station, Okayama, 340 miles west of Tokyo.
The incident came to light after the dozing driver was awakened by a conductor.
"We are very shocked," said Kosuke Sugiyama of the company's public relations office. "Our business is all about passengers trusting us enough to travel on our trains."
Japan's bullet trains have a reputation for punctuality timed to the second and drivers are a highly trained elite.