adventurous cyclist
turtle speed cyclist
- May 16, 2019
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Thanks. Going to have the wife check into it. I really feel one should have a credit card, if anything, just for emergencies .
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My wife has a joint credit card (again Rakuten). (By the way, in my previous post auto correct was overzealous and misspelt Rakuten.)
I haven't received a PM. Can you try and send one again?
Although already mentioned, the most stupid piece of traffic law is the law that you have to be close to the left-hand kerb. This makes it extremely dangerous in those circumstances where you have dedicated left-turn lanes and you want to go straight. There is an intersection near Yasukuni Shrine where you even have two dedicated left-turn lanes.
As also mentioned, the law says that you are not allowed to ride on the pavement. However, there are exceptions, if you are below 13 or above 70 years old, and it is dangerous to ride on the street/road. What is dangerous is decided by the rider. It is also quite common that there are signs that you are indeed allowed to ride you bike on the pavement, usually with the addition of 歩行者優先. So in the end, unfortunately, there are actually not that many pavements that you are not allowed to ride.
One problem is unfortunately also the non-enforcement of the law. Just yesterday, there was a taxi stopping/waiting on the zebra crossing in a big intersection. This forces traffic, including bike riders to overtake with plenty of traffic coming from behind. In this particular case there was a police officer standing 50 cm from the taxi doing fuck all about it. Needless to say, I felt compelled to shout at the police officer in no uncertain that she should do her job. When she pretending it was raining, I went back and asked why she didn't do anything to which she answered that the taxi wasn't standing still for too long. I asked her if the law for waiting/stopping talks about 短期 or 長期 which she reluctantly admitted it didn't, and then she said that she will fine the driver next time. Like *+`> she will!
Riding would be so much safer if the law was just implemented properly, fining drivers for waiting and parking at the side of the street/road. Japan also ought to implement more non-waiting zones.
One problem is unfortunately also the non-enforcement of the law....Riding would be so much safer if the law was just implemented properly, fining drivers for waiting and parking at the side of the street/road. Japan also ought to implement more non-waiting zones.
Not official at all. It's Byron ('Tokyo By Bike') Kidd, and his photographer friends. Well meaning, and possibly useful, but not official at all.not sure how official that actually is
I don't agree with this at all. Japan is a crowded place. The police operate as part of the community not in opposition to them. If the taxi was stopped for a few seconds big deal.
The last thing you or anyone else wants is a police force that feels it's their job to "police" what is basically a law abiding and tolerant society.
You want them to act on your behalf, well that wouldn't be to others behalf. So what if he stopped to let someone off and you had to wait. It's very typical of western people to only consider their own personal rights. Like the world only revolves around their own self importance. Running around and telling the police how you think they should behave is just ignorant and arrogant.
I take for granted that I haven't explained myself properly since you talk about clogging up traffic. The taxi comes from my right, turning a right into the most left lane. From the north turning west looking at the map that linked. He stops in the left lane right on top of the zebra crossing. He is the one clogging up traffic and no one else and as there was no one in front of him. If I am to stop behind him, I will be standing inside the intersection. There is no way for me to know that he will indeed stop there as he also ran a red light, hence I had already taken off before he stopped.It wasn't dangerous to you. He wasn't moving. You can stop and wait in perfect safety for the 60 seconds it takes to unload. Or you could move around him being alert and looking out for your own safety like a normal adult.
For years I've watched people running a turn right lane right in front of a koban on my daily commute. And the cops never do anything about it. Even when they have been sitting on the corner. Yet they are pulling people over down at the next intersection. Why is this?
Well, they understand that the turn right lane is notoriously jammed up and pulling people over there would only further clog traffic at the busy intersection and make things less safe than just letting people get on with it. They work for the good of all in ignoring the rule breaking because booking people would serve no value for the community.
So what to do about this flagrant law breaking? Run into the koban and tell them the law and demand action? Ha ha ha it's laughable.
Or make sure before you pull out despite the green light always be sure what the flow of traffic is and get on with it. Just like every other Japanese person whose country this is.
I felt compelled to shout at the police officer in no uncertain that she should do her job."
On the subject of laws not being enforced, I find it ironic that in a country that appears pre-occupied with order and rule following ("The nail standing up gets hammered down" is a poor translation of a saying told to youngsters here to get them to be part of the hive), there are so many exceptions. The bike laws appear to be written with this in mind, e.g., ride on the road, unless of course you feel its not safe. Don't ride your bicycle after alcoholic consumption, unless of course you are really old, and then erratic/drunken behavior is completely acceptable and no one will pay you any mind except the newly uninitiated gaikokujin. Don't ride on the back of a bicycle sitting on the luggage rack or rear tire, unless of course you are in middle or high school, and then you get a completely free pass, even while riding directly in front of the Koban stalls. Keep your kids safe, unless of course you're putting an infant directly over the front tire, a second infant in a baby carrier on your chest, a third infant and maybe fourth infant on two children's bicycle seats behind you, with a bag of heavy groceries balanced on each handlebar and riding your mamachari through a red light. Don't stand in the street blocking traffic, unless of course you have just lost/won a baseball game and your entire team decides to park their bikes directly in a transit lane blocking both directions of all people trying to get through, leaving the baseball field, stands, benches, etc. completely empty....
On the subject of laws not being enforced, I find it ironic that in a country that appears pre-occupied with order and rule following ("The nail standing up gets hammered down" is a poor translation of a saying told to youngsters here to get them to be part of the hive), there are so many exceptions. The bike laws appear to be written with this in mind, e.g., ride on the road, unless of course you feel its not safe. Don't ride your bicycle after alcoholic consumption, unless of course you are really old, and then erratic/drunken behavior is completely acceptable and no one will pay you any mind except the newly uninitiated gaikokujin. Don't ride on the back of a bicycle sitting on the luggage rack or rear tire, unless of course you are in middle or high school, and then you get a completely free pass, even while riding directly in front of the Koban stalls. Keep your kids safe, unless of course you're putting an infant directly over the front tire, a second infant in a baby carrier on your chest, a third infant and maybe fourth infant on two children's bicycle seats behind you, with a bag of heavy groceries balanced on each handlebar and riding your mamachari through a red light. Don't stand in the street blocking traffic, unless of course you have just lost/won a baseball game and your entire team decides to park their bikes directly in a transit lane blocking both directions of all people trying to get through, leaving the baseball field, stands, benches, etc. completely empty....
The evidence is pretty clear that both lowering speed limits and enforcing existing speed limits have a positive effect on the number of deaths on the road from collisions, so I can't agree with you that they're "doing nothing". Everyone has a competence bias and thinks they can go faster or drive more agressively than other people and the ones with the biggest bias are the ones that end up ploughing into pedestrians and cyclists.Try going to Australia where they set a up speed traps all over where they can bust people for doing nothing
The evidence is pretty clear that both lowering speed limits and enforcing existing speed limits have a positive effect on the number of deaths on the road from collisions, so I can't agree with you that they're "doing nothing". Everyone has a competence bias and thinks they can go faster or drive more agressively than other people and the ones with the biggest bias are the ones that end up ploughing into pedestrians and cyclists.