THE 'JOYS' OF DRIVING IN JAPAN - PART 2

In my previous post I recounted my experience with a 'part-time one-way street' and the traffic offence I inadvertently committed, as I hadn't even been aware of the sign indicating that I was driving down a street with certain restrictions. But truth be told: Even if I had actually noticed the sign, chances are that I would probably still not have understood it anyway...

The thing is that Japanese authorities are masters in putting up traffic signs that are very complicated or indeed puzzling - or often both!

Let's take the following example:

This sign basically means that lorries and buses are only allowed to go straight, indicated by the arrows and the symbols. This would automatically imply that smaller vehicles can turn left. However, the wording underneath says that 'vehicles other than large ones can either go straight, turn left or half-left, but excluding light vehicles'. Thinking that the signage might simply not be suited for Western brains to understand and that it might be crystal-clear to a Japanese person, I turned to my trusted wife for advice, but she was just shrugging her shoulders in equal lack of comprehension...

Let's look at another example, and you can already see at first glance that there is quite a lot to unpack here:

First, this indicates the end of the 50 km/h speed limit zone, meaning that the default speed limit of 60 km/h (the maximum on regular roads) applies from here onward. So far so good.

Next, stopping is not allowed 17:00h - 19:00h, unless it's to pick up or set down passengers, and except for Sundays and holidays, when it's OK to stop at any time, and for whatever reason. But no parking at any time.

The 'no stopping' sign that allows stopping for picking up or setting down passengers quite frankly baffles me! Because why else would a driver want to stop in the first place, if not for this very purpose?

The complicated signage not only applies to drivers, but also to pedestrians - although their advantage is that they can actually stop in front of the sign and take all the time in the world to decipher the meaning. A privilege car drivers don't have.

So, what is this telling us then?

Well, it's a pedestrian zone, not allowing traffic except for bicycles (which would then essentially mean it's not a pedestrian zone after all...).

And except for Saturdays, Sundays and holidays 08:00 - 09:00 (when cars are allowed), as well as on Sundays and holidays (but not Saturdays) 11:00 - 19:00 (when cars are also allowed).

This would then mean that on Saturdays, cars are only allowed for one hour in the morning (08:00 - 09:00), whereas on Sundays and holidays, they are also allowed 11:00 - 19:00 (though not between 09:00 and 10:00!). And you're also not allowed to park here, though this would be a moot point on weekdays, or 09:00 - 10:00 on weekends and holidays, or indeed anytime before 08:00 or after 09:00 on Saturdays, when you're not allowed to drive here anyway...

I guess you can see that in Japanese road traffic rules, exceptions are pretty much a common theme and can force your brain to perform contortions!

And then there are the following signs, within only a few metres of each other, on my route to work:

Left:

Lorries are not allowed to pass this road through the entire city centre between Saturday 22:00 h and Sunday 07:00 h. And you're also not allowed to park here at any time.

Right:

No U-turns allowed. No right-turns 07:30 - 09:30 and 17:00 - 19:00, except for buses (which can turn right at any time), and except for Saturdays, Sundays and holidays (when anyone can turn right even between those hours).

Until you have figured it all out, you're well past the signs... Good thing that in order to reach the office, I need to go straight at this intersection, which seems reasonably safe and not posing any risk of committing a traffic offence...

But complex traffic signs are not the only peril on Japan's roads:

Speed limits

Speed limits on Japanese roads are generally (unrealistically) low, which means that basically everyone drives at speeds above the indicated limits. For example, in urban areas on roads with one lane in each direction, it's generally a mere 40 km/h, whereas the maximum anywhere on regular roads is only 60 km/h, and on expressways it's 80 to 100 km/h.

When I first arrived here and inquired with my father-in-law on the tolerance level, he told me that it was no problem to go up to 20 km/h above the allowed limit without risking a ticket... That really baffled me because on the planet I come from (Switzerland), speed limits have been set with the expectation of drivers to adhere to them - which I thought was the general idea... That said, they are also a lot more realistic back in Switzerland, and they are being strictly enforced with speed cameras all over the place.

But having become accustomed to driving habits in Japan over the past 27 years, it is not an unusual occurrence on visits to Europe that I come back with a 'souvenir' in the shape of a speeding ticket. The latest incident happened earlier this year, when I was flashed at 55 km/h in a 50 km/h zone and promptly had an invoice from the police in the post a couple of weeks later...

Although speed cameras are probably not as frequent here, they do exist in Japan. But one can easily be forgiven for thinking that they are not in operation, because even if you drive considerably above the permitted speed, you won't get flashed. That's because their threshold is set much higher than in other countries. On expressways they won't get activated unless you're 40 km/h (!) above the allowed limit. On regular roads it's 30 km/h. In that context, my father-in-law's advice makes a lot more sense.

It would seem that the authorities here can't be bothered to deal with 'small fish' and let them all off the hock. They're only interested in catching the big offenders, who then face criminal charges, rather than just being fined for traffic infractions. When driving on the expressway, it is not uncommon to see an unmarked police car on the hard shoulder, behind a vehicle they pulled over. Most of the time, those are expensive-looking cars with a lot of horsepower under their bonnet, and I have to assume they were all doing at least 140 km/h (instead of the allowed 100 km/h) at the time they were caught.

Slow ambulances

One observation I have made over the years is that while in other countries ambulances are often driving at break-neck speed, which can make it a challenge to get out of their way quickly enough, in Japan they seem to take great caution on the road and often don't seem to be in much of a hurry, despite their flashing lights and sirens blaring (as well as a megaphone message kindly asking you to get out of the way).

Admittedly, especially in huge cities like Tokyo, with jammed roads that are not very wide to begin with, it can be a challenge for an emergency car to get to their destination quickly. That said, drivers are very good at making way as much as possible, so that an ambulance can pass. But even when the road is clear, I often get the impression that they adopt a somewhat leisurely speed - at least compared to ambulances I have seen zip by in Switzerland or the UK. Perhaps this is because they are as much concerned here about not running someone over as they are about the wellbeing of the patient in the back of the ambulance, or the victim they are trying to reach...

It's worth pointing out that Japan has one of the best ambulance services in the world, which probably proves that appearances can often be deceiving.

Lane-hogging and undertaking

One of the most irritating things for me when driving on Japan's expressways is the large number of 'lane hoggers', stubbornly sticking to the fast lane at relatively slow speed - and that includes lorries. My approach tends to be to set the right indicator (remember, we drive on the left here!), to signal to the driver in front that he should pull into the left or middle lane, so that I can pass. That often has no effect, as the driver either doesn't check his rearview mirror, doesn't understand my intention, or - worst of all - is simply defiant. I can never be sure which one it is.

Usually, after a couple of minutes of this, and with my patience slowly waning, I then deploy my second weapon: I flash my headlights, to catch his attention. Sometimes that yields a result. Often it doesn't. Which then makes me wonder why I don't just blend in with everyone else here and simply undertake the car on the left lane. Because that's what many here do, in spite of the fact that it's not allowed and can in fact be a very dangerous maneuver, which is the exact reason it's not permitted.

Sometimes, when driving down an expressway, I feel like I'm in the 'wild west' (despite being in the Far East...).

Stopping (or parking) in 'no stopping' zones

Another pet peeve of mine is cars stopped or parked (!) on the edge of a busy road, essentially blocking traffic - despite all the 'no stopping' signs dotting the landscape, which are apparently regarded as mere decoration. As this is not just a mere traffic violation, but increases the risk of accidents, initially I would always honk my horn, not simply due to my annoyance (well, let's be honest, that too!), but mainly to alert them to their wrongdoing and the danger they are posing to everyone else on the road. However, there are two problems with that: All the honking is meaningless if the driver of that car is in fact not inside his vehicle and therefore won't hear you anyway. And secondly, honking is considered very rude in Japan. So I gave up honking my horn a long time ago. 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do', as they say. So when in Tokyo... - well, you get my point.

No honking

In fact, not only is honking considered unacceptable behaviour, but Japan's traffic law specifically states that it should only be used in emergencies (though the definition of that is less clear). Apparently, this is similar to traffic regulations in other countries; the only difference is that Japanese drivers adhere to it. That means that even on Tokyo's congested streets, you will rarely hear a car horn. Funny that is: Drivers may not seem to care all that much about other traffic rules, but they do take the 'no honking' law very seriously...

Jumping red lights

Another peculiarity is that while pedestrians always patiently wait until the light at a zebra crossing turns green, drivers seem to make it a habit of jumping red lights. Here the rule of thumb seems to be:

Green: Go

Amber: Go faster

Red: Go even faster

Coming from a country where you encounter cameras at many intersections (another opportunity to collect 'costly souvenirs'!), making you think twice whether it's really a good idea to go through an intersection even with an amber signal, my gut instinct always tells me that it's safer to stop. Though in Japan it's probably not, because the driver behind you may have a different gut instinct...

So I make it a habit to always check the proximity of the car behind me in my rearview mirror, in order to avoid being rear-ended.

But 27 years in a country inevitably changes your habits, so these days I'm probably just as likely to step on the accelerator instead when the light turns to amber. And I'm always surprised when not only one car, but sometimes even two follow me across the intersection!

Needless to say, unlike speed cameras, red light cameras have not found their way to the Land of the Rising Sun so far.

Rule to stop at railway crossings

So in the context of Japanese drivers and their seemingly rather 'loose' relationship with traffic regulations, it's then even more puzzling that absolutely everyone adheres to the following rule: To stop at a railway crossing (and open the window to listen out for an approaching train), although the odds that the gates malfunction and you collide with an oncoming train are probably miniscule compared to the risk of an accident when jumping a red light. But it's the rule, and interestingly enough, everyone follows this one...

Cyclists

So driving in Japan can be 'interesting' and comes with certain challenges not encountered elsewhere. Add to the list the need to always watch out for cyclists. Because for them, no rules appear to exist whatsoever! You will see them cycle down the wrong side of the road and on pavements, and they seem oblivious to the existence of traffic lights, which, in combination with some of the driving habits of automobilists, puts them in obvious danger.

It is probably because of that danger that the government took a stand to protect cyclists earlier this year by making it mandatory to wear helmets. Well, sort of, because 'mandatory' must be seen as a rather loose term. Because you see, the amendment to the Road Traffic Act doesn't say 'You must wear a helmet', but 'You must make an effort to wear a helmet'. As a result, deciding on whether to wear a helmet or not is ultimately up to each individual's discretion...

Perhaps one should check the wording of other traffic regulations as well then. If, for instance, the law says that you're just required to 'make an effort' to stay within the speed limit, not to undertake or stop in 'no stopping' zones, or not to jump red lights, that may explain a lot...

Japan is always good for some interesting surprises if you come from another planet like me...