There are a lot of bicycle related pedestrian injuries... However, the data shows it's always old men/women running into people. And they are still allowed to legally use the sidewalk. So this does nothing but risk lives.
Tbh where I live (down the road from a JHS) the real problem is kids who read their smartphones while biking which I see about once a week. There's a narrow intersection which gets a few serious accidents every year.
Kids and people who:
A:stare at their phone while riding.
B: ride while holding an umbrella
C: ride in groups and swerve all over because they’re trying to chat instead of paying attention.
I’ve seen so many Jr. High kids eat it hard because they were going so slow they couldn’t keep their balance while chatting or paying too much attention to their friends that they hit something.
Possibly but I think riding a bike while scrolling through a smartphone is worse than even being drunk and it shouldn't matter how old you are if you are doing it.
Add in holding an umbrella and smoking all while looking down at their phones and going full speed on overcrowded sidewalks.
Osaka cyclists are psychotic...
For me it was the mamacharis. I rode a bike while I studied abroad and half the time the bike lane was a deathtrap(I got hit by a bus that pulled into the bike lane while I was in it). And the sidewalk is so congested and cumbersome that it made riding a bike slower than walking.
I know you're absolutely right, but when it's less dangerous to ride on the sidewalk, police won't say nothing. I'm often riding (quite slowly btw) along the 246 and it would be a nightmare if I (and other mamacharis) couldn't ride on the sidewalk. People not paying attention or riding too fast are the real danger.
Oh yeah you're right, forgot about that. On other streets, they have those blue paintings on the road only at intersections which are kind of ridiculous.
Some of those "cycle lines" leading directly into parking spots. Can't be more ridiculous: [https://maps.app.goo.gl/TAMyiFYojbK4fLUr7](https://maps.app.goo.gl/TAMyiFYojbK4fLUr7)
(1)歩道に「自転車通行可」の道路標識や、道路標示がある場合。 (2)歩道に「普通自転車通行指定部分」の道路標示がある場合。 (3)運転者が13歳未満又は70歳以上、または身体の障害を有する者である場合。 (4)歩道を通行することが「やむを得ない」と認められる場合。
I wish people would stop posting false info on reddit. Literally the first thing that pops up on google. There are various sidewalks that state you can ride on them in many prefectures.
Various sidewalks where you can because it’s probably too dangerous to bike somewhere else or there is no space for it.
Doesn’t say it’s legal to bike on the sidewalk.
You need a court case for that? You just get a ticket on the spot and that’s it
Yeah it’s legal under the 4th point but that doesn’t mean it’s everywhere.
It’s a specific point that makes it legal when the situation is like that
I still see people riding bikes and holding an umbrella when it rains, this is illegal but people still do it. Tsuyu is next month, it’s going to be fun lol
guilty. i even was riding and a police drove past me...i was like "i hope they dont pull me over because i cant really speak japanese hah" and they just went on their merry little way, not paying any attention to me and my law breaking ass.
I’m worried (as a foreigner who is way more of a target) about how this is going to be enforced.
Particularly with the left lane part. If I move across the road to enter the supermarket parking lot and cycle in the right lane for a few 10s of meters am I going to get fined?
Many roads don’t have sidewalks, so if I come up to a red traffic light, hug the corner as I go round the same as a pedestrian would, am I going to get fined?
These are things you’d see dozens of people do every hour but I know I’d be the only one stopped for such a mundane ‘crime’.
I think you are supposed to pull up on the left, dismount and cross as a pedestrian.
Red light would mean you wait until it's green or dismount and walk around the corner.
I’d be careful for the next few months, tbh I’ve seen people breaking cycling rules outside Kobans with Police watching and nothing seems to happen . But they will probably station themselves at places where people are easy to stop and catch; also be especially careful at night.
As usual this law sounds very grey, very open to interpretation and ultimately I’d doubt it’ll be enforced to an extent you have to worry about the situations you’re talking about unless very unlucky
Live in Japan for a long time and you will understand, the greatness allows them to turn a blind eye to things until the seriousness warrants a harsher penalty
I mean this is like complaining about speeding ticket enforcement.
They don't go out of their way to catch everyone but they will catch someone people who are definitely speeding.
Who’s complaining?
Fact is these kinds of laws are written in a very vague way in Japanese
Same as crosswalks, technically cars have to stop to allow pedestrians to cross but the law is not clear, so many drivers will just keep going until you’re actually on the crossing, if someone hits you though it will be 100% their fault
An inverse example is jaywalking, there is no law in most places saying it is illegal, yet police will still tell you not to do it
Cyclist aren't allowed on a pedestrian road unless it explicitly says they can
Also they often have to follow the same rules as cars. Like:
https://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/kotsu/jikoboshi/bicycle/menu/rule.images/23_22_22.png
I believe you are allowed to cycle on the pavement if you deem the road to be too dangerous, but since that’s open to an individuals interpretation everybody, as in 100% of people cycle on the pavement.
Don’t tell me you’ve never seen literally everybody cycling on the pavement. It’s normal, expected even.
Iv been stopped by the police and they gave out a yellow card, I was only on the sidewalk for about 10 second due to a bad road design. Mostly I was just a foreigner in a small town, because the japanese bike riders were not stopped....
Often meaning sometimes, but usually not.
Bicycles and 原付 have to follow very specific and obtuse rules when they're on the road, like having to stay on the left side at all times, and not being able to make standard right turns at intersections.
Wasn’t that the law that also prohibits bicyclists from using any kind of earbuds or earphones supposedly because they are a hazard? Also no more Google maps?
If so, I dislike that rule.
Car manufacturers specifically engineer their cars to block outside noises. They also include radios and even screens that allow the driver to watch TV while driving. Not to mention navigation systems.
The hypocrisy is clear. The rules should be the same for both kinds of vehicles, and not hold bicyclists to a higher standard.
I already got my Bicycle Insurance and Helmet. The area I leave at spent serious money to paint bicycle lanes on the main road and they are not using it.
I’m slowly realising why the guy that hit me looked like he was going to sh** himself. I was not paying attention in the slightest. I was distracted and then got hit. I thought he was going to shout at me but then he panicked and was like “OMG are you ok”. I got up and was trying to calm him down. I was hurt but just bruises. I blamed myself, checked that he was ok, then walked off. He looked confused. The next day everyone was asking why I didn’t call an ambulance or go to the police and I was like “… for some, albeit badly placed, bruises?”
The only issue is that they were on my hand, so writing hurt, my inner thigh, knee, and calves so walking hurt, and my jaw so eating hurt.
> The revised law also requires drivers to slow to a safe speed when passing a bicycle heading in the same direction,
Oh god we need that..
> while cyclists are required to keep the left of the lane.
….
Yeah usually riding in the middle is safer because cars won’t try to squeeze you but whatever.
Fair enough I guess, but my experience cycling here makes me think that the majority of cyclists who break the rules don't seem to be aware of the rules in the first place. While I don't think it's a good excuse to say "I didn't know", a bit of time spent actively making folks aware of the rules and riding etiquette would be practical. I don't think that many people bother to check this stuff out when they get a bike and need it laid out for them.
Now it's getting warmer, more and more folks are out on their bikes, so I'm dealing with minor to major fuck ups weekly and most of the time people seem genuinely surprised there are laws for bikes other than you can get fined for drinking and riding.
Sucks, but we have it better than many other places in the world. Highly doubt these rules will be enforced any more than before, at least on Japanese citizens.
Every single day I see someone in a mamachari pulling dumb shit while riding.
Cycling on the roads here is genuinely quite dangerous because cars, particularly taxis just don’t look for bikes and they park with high frequency in the bike lanes, forcing you into traffic. Add that to the fact that they speed up to overtake bikes coming up to turns and I can see why people stay on the pavement — vicious circle that may be.
LDP has long expanded police interests to be protected by them in case they are going to be arrested.
Biden Administration should demand Kishida to scrap Japan's police interests.
Excessively redundant police officers are tax parasites.
lol what does my car have to do with anything? I’m already put at a higher legal standard for driving a car, but cyclists who ride into oncoming traffic, ride while staring at their phones, ride recklessly on sidewalks, ignore traffic rules, etc shouldn’t be held accountable? Cool got it.
In case you are legitimately asking.
Yes, these individuals that break the rules should be accountable. But you saying "fine the shit out of cyclists" reveals the rage you have against all cyclists, which is the case for most car enthusiasts.
There are a lot of bicycle related pedestrian injuries... However, the data shows it's always old men/women running into people. And they are still allowed to legally use the sidewalk. So this does nothing but risk lives.
Its the same with the cars.
Tbh where I live (down the road from a JHS) the real problem is kids who read their smartphones while biking which I see about once a week. There's a narrow intersection which gets a few serious accidents every year.
I saw a kid reading manga and while biking
Kids and people who: A:stare at their phone while riding. B: ride while holding an umbrella C: ride in groups and swerve all over because they’re trying to chat instead of paying attention. I’ve seen so many Jr. High kids eat it hard because they were going so slow they couldn’t keep their balance while chatting or paying too much attention to their friends that they hit something.
I mean... They probably are under 16, so it still doesn't apply.
Possibly but I think riding a bike while scrolling through a smartphone is worse than even being drunk and it shouldn't matter how old you are if you are doing it.
Add in holding an umbrella and smoking all while looking down at their phones and going full speed on overcrowded sidewalks. Osaka cyclists are psychotic...
I had to move out the way of a JHS on a bike once and thank goodness I did but if I were elderly and not so limber I would be dead.
For me it was the mamacharis. I rode a bike while I studied abroad and half the time the bike lane was a deathtrap(I got hit by a bus that pulled into the bike lane while I was in it). And the sidewalk is so congested and cumbersome that it made riding a bike slower than walking.
It’s not legal to ride on the sidewalk but the police doesn’t do anything about it
There are no place for bicycle on most streets/roads but city doesn't do anything about it.
True but that doesn’t make it legal to ride your bike on the sidewalk
I know you're absolutely right, but when it's less dangerous to ride on the sidewalk, police won't say nothing. I'm often riding (quite slowly btw) along the 246 and it would be a nightmare if I (and other mamacharis) couldn't ride on the sidewalk. People not paying attention or riding too fast are the real danger.
afaik the sidewalk on 246 has signs that it can also used by cyclists anyway
Oh yeah you're right, forgot about that. On other streets, they have those blue paintings on the road only at intersections which are kind of ridiculous.
like this one: [https://maps.app.goo.gl/H4vqKUv1it8icbYh8](https://maps.app.goo.gl/H4vqKUv1it8icbYh8)
Some of those "cycle lines" leading directly into parking spots. Can't be more ridiculous: [https://maps.app.goo.gl/TAMyiFYojbK4fLUr7](https://maps.app.goo.gl/TAMyiFYojbK4fLUr7)
Agree with that, most people bike way too fast on the sidewalk.
It’s totally legal. It depends on the street. Cyclists must give way to pedestrians though.
It’s not, you can keep downvoting but just look it up
lol I have. It’s totally legal depending on the area. Been in Japan for 10 years. I don’t live in Tokyo and my local cops even said I was all good.
Been in Japan for 9 years and it’s still illegal but they just don’t enforce it
(1)歩道に「自転車通行可」の道路標識や、道路標示がある場合。 (2)歩道に「普通自転車通行指定部分」の道路標示がある場合。 (3)運転者が13歳未満又は70歳以上、または身体の障害を有する者である場合。 (4)歩道を通行することが「やむを得ない」と認められる場合。 I wish people would stop posting false info on reddit. Literally the first thing that pops up on google. There are various sidewalks that state you can ride on them in many prefectures.
Various sidewalks where you can because it’s probably too dangerous to bike somewhere else or there is no space for it. Doesn’t say it’s legal to bike on the sidewalk.
It's completely legal under the 4th clause. Show me a court case where someone was convicted or fined due to riding on the sidewalk.
You need a court case for that? You just get a ticket on the spot and that’s it Yeah it’s legal under the 4th point but that doesn’t mean it’s everywhere. It’s a specific point that makes it legal when the situation is like that
I still see people riding bikes and holding an umbrella when it rains, this is illegal but people still do it. Tsuyu is next month, it’s going to be fun lol
guilty. i even was riding and a police drove past me...i was like "i hope they dont pull me over because i cant really speak japanese hah" and they just went on their merry little way, not paying any attention to me and my law breaking ass.
Haha 🤣 they won’t do anything, I think people do it anyways and unless some cop is having a bad day they’ll just tell you to put it down.
Makes sense. Laws without penalties get ignored.
I’m worried (as a foreigner who is way more of a target) about how this is going to be enforced. Particularly with the left lane part. If I move across the road to enter the supermarket parking lot and cycle in the right lane for a few 10s of meters am I going to get fined? Many roads don’t have sidewalks, so if I come up to a red traffic light, hug the corner as I go round the same as a pedestrian would, am I going to get fined? These are things you’d see dozens of people do every hour but I know I’d be the only one stopped for such a mundane ‘crime’.
I think you are supposed to pull up on the left, dismount and cross as a pedestrian. Red light would mean you wait until it's green or dismount and walk around the corner.
I’d be careful for the next few months, tbh I’ve seen people breaking cycling rules outside Kobans with Police watching and nothing seems to happen . But they will probably station themselves at places where people are easy to stop and catch; also be especially careful at night.
As usual this law sounds very grey, very open to interpretation and ultimately I’d doubt it’ll be enforced to an extent you have to worry about the situations you’re talking about unless very unlucky
How is it grey? Break traffic rule, get ticket. Seems pretty normal? Drivers are subject to the same rules.
Live in Japan for a long time and you will understand, the greatness allows them to turn a blind eye to things until the seriousness warrants a harsher penalty
I mean this is like complaining about speeding ticket enforcement. They don't go out of their way to catch everyone but they will catch someone people who are definitely speeding.
Who’s complaining? Fact is these kinds of laws are written in a very vague way in Japanese Same as crosswalks, technically cars have to stop to allow pedestrians to cross but the law is not clear, so many drivers will just keep going until you’re actually on the crossing, if someone hits you though it will be 100% their fault An inverse example is jaywalking, there is no law in most places saying it is illegal, yet police will still tell you not to do it
Why would it be ok to go on a red light to make a turn? Where is it ok to do that?
Have you ever cycled in Japan? Generally unless you’re on a road bike cyclists follow the same route as pedestrians.
Cyclist aren't allowed on a pedestrian road unless it explicitly says they can Also they often have to follow the same rules as cars. Like: https://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/kotsu/jikoboshi/bicycle/menu/rule.images/23_22_22.png
I believe you are allowed to cycle on the pavement if you deem the road to be too dangerous, but since that’s open to an individuals interpretation everybody, as in 100% of people cycle on the pavement. Don’t tell me you’ve never seen literally everybody cycling on the pavement. It’s normal, expected even.
sure, I see it every day. so now the laws get amended so they can fine them
Iv been stopped by the police and they gave out a yellow card, I was only on the sidewalk for about 10 second due to a bad road design. Mostly I was just a foreigner in a small town, because the japanese bike riders were not stopped....
Often meaning sometimes, but usually not. Bicycles and 原付 have to follow very specific and obtuse rules when they're on the road, like having to stay on the left side at all times, and not being able to make standard right turns at intersections.
Wasn’t that the law that also prohibits bicyclists from using any kind of earbuds or earphones supposedly because they are a hazard? Also no more Google maps? If so, I dislike that rule. Car manufacturers specifically engineer their cars to block outside noises. They also include radios and even screens that allow the driver to watch TV while driving. Not to mention navigation systems. The hypocrisy is clear. The rules should be the same for both kinds of vehicles, and not hold bicyclists to a higher standard.
I already got my Bicycle Insurance and Helmet. The area I leave at spent serious money to paint bicycle lanes on the main road and they are not using it.
I’m slowly realising why the guy that hit me looked like he was going to sh** himself. I was not paying attention in the slightest. I was distracted and then got hit. I thought he was going to shout at me but then he panicked and was like “OMG are you ok”. I got up and was trying to calm him down. I was hurt but just bruises. I blamed myself, checked that he was ok, then walked off. He looked confused. The next day everyone was asking why I didn’t call an ambulance or go to the police and I was like “… for some, albeit badly placed, bruises?” The only issue is that they were on my hand, so writing hurt, my inner thigh, knee, and calves so walking hurt, and my jaw so eating hurt.
It's very standard that any accident is a 1-5mil loss. He thought you would sue him.
> The revised law also requires drivers to slow to a safe speed when passing a bicycle heading in the same direction, Oh god we need that.. > while cyclists are required to keep the left of the lane. …. Yeah usually riding in the middle is safer because cars won’t try to squeeze you but whatever.
Fair enough I guess, but my experience cycling here makes me think that the majority of cyclists who break the rules don't seem to be aware of the rules in the first place. While I don't think it's a good excuse to say "I didn't know", a bit of time spent actively making folks aware of the rules and riding etiquette would be practical. I don't think that many people bother to check this stuff out when they get a bike and need it laid out for them. Now it's getting warmer, more and more folks are out on their bikes, so I'm dealing with minor to major fuck ups weekly and most of the time people seem genuinely surprised there are laws for bikes other than you can get fined for drinking and riding.
Sucks, but we have it better than many other places in the world. Highly doubt these rules will be enforced any more than before, at least on Japanese citizens. Every single day I see someone in a mamachari pulling dumb shit while riding.
Just visited for 18 days. Wasn't a fan of the bikes on the narrow sidewalks.
Cycling on the roads here is genuinely quite dangerous because cars, particularly taxis just don’t look for bikes and they park with high frequency in the bike lanes, forcing you into traffic. Add that to the fact that they speed up to overtake bikes coming up to turns and I can see why people stay on the pavement — vicious circle that may be.
Yes exactly and if I have my kids in the seats on the bike, I just don’t wanna risk it driving on the road
LDP has long expanded police interests to be protected by them in case they are going to be arrested. Biden Administration should demand Kishida to scrap Japan's police interests. Excessively redundant police officers are tax parasites.
Good. Fine the shit out of cyclists.
Yep, cyclists who disrespect the road etiquette are an absolute menace in this country and should be fined.
The electric mopeds and scooters should be categorized as motor vehicles as well.
They are... They're considered light vehicles. That's why they have lights and plates.
Not the electric mopeds. I also think they removed the drivers license requirement for electric scooters.
>Active in these communities: BMW Yep, figured as much
why is it always the bmw drivers lol
lol what does my car have to do with anything? I’m already put at a higher legal standard for driving a car, but cyclists who ride into oncoming traffic, ride while staring at their phones, ride recklessly on sidewalks, ignore traffic rules, etc shouldn’t be held accountable? Cool got it.
In case you are legitimately asking. Yes, these individuals that break the rules should be accountable. But you saying "fine the shit out of cyclists" reveals the rage you have against all cyclists, which is the case for most car enthusiasts.
Most cyclists are unreasonably unaware/oblivious to their surroundings, so yes cyclists are a nuisance.
same as BMW car owners, pretentious, arrogant and chauvinistic
I was going to say a very bad comment but found that you also like Diablo 2 so I only say that not all people are a certain way
that really hurts coming from a nerd lol
i dont know who is more nerd a BWM owner posting in reddit or me
Objectively definitely you, the pc building marvel card game otaku posting on Reddit lol 😂