Tokyo police to issue ‘red tickets’ to cyclists violating traffic laws

What is a "red ticket"? What does it entail? Fines, punishment, etc?

If the police were working on commission, they'd make a killing. Riding on the wrong side of the road is about as common as someone wearing a mask.

What does a "red ticket" do? It doesn't really say. The same should go for motor bike (moped) riders, too.

These Red Tickets apparently require the recipient to show up for a more serious dressing down, so it’s not nothing.

Actually I am very glad to see this. I hate people going the wrong way on the road on their bicycles, and can easily imagine how many accidents it must be causing.

If people don’t want to eventually be told it is compulsory to wear helmets while riding bikes, I hope they will start to take this stuff seriously.

The mentality in Tokyo seems to be that bicycles are the same as pedestrians, but obviously bicycles are more akin to cars given the speeds that they can travel at.

These rules will be enforced during the campaign and then totally disregarded like the last time and the time before that and the 100s of times before that.

Certainly cyclists should follow the rules of the road, but there is still a lot of cleaning up to do. How come it's OK to watch TV while driving, but not OK to speak on a cell phone?

I think the translation is red card like soccer. Whats the fine for a red card?

Every. Single. Day!

Riding on the wrong side (salmoning).

Failure to yield.

Failure to stop at stop sign/red light.

Phone in hand.

Umbrella in hand.

Failure to yield for pedestrians on sideWALK.

Using the crossWALK instead of following traffic signals.

Blowing through the stop sign because the crossWALK is green.

Pressing the crossWALK button to cross the street instead of stopping at the stop sign and proceeding when clear.

Vehicles turning left, overtaking cyclists going straight.

And on and on and on...

I mean...isn't this basic, just basic common sense?!

It's very confusing to me how much time, energy and effort goes into "driver training" to get a license, yet seemingly zero goes into educating people how to PROPERLY operate a bicycle!

Education, NOT "red tickets" is the solution to "minimize cases of injury or death".

My solution to protect myself from potential liability...I have installed a bicycle "drive recorder" on my handlebars, and I recommend you do too!!

So, wait. There's rules for using a cycle, and now they're gonna... enforce them?

Shouldn't they have been enforced all the time?

Cyclist behaviour is Tokyo is just awful. They say Japan is a country of polite manners, but cyclists are proof that is nonsense.

Cyclists the world over need to change their mindsets.

Instead of thinking of their 'superiority' over all other people (motorists and pedestrians), they should consider their personal duty to ride carefully, safely, and unselfishly at all times, taking extra care on pavements by just walking with their bicycle.

The uppermost consideration must always be to the personal safety of everyone, men / women / children, especially the elderly - even the smallest collision with someone can result in enormous pain, complications, and occasionally in their early demise.

The mentality in Tokyo seems to be that bicycles are the same as pedestrians, but obviously bicycles are more akin to cars given the speeds that they can travel at.

Have to agree with you here.

The front and back seat, two kids or grocery wielding mama-chari hurtling down the sidewalk, the mother barely looking at her surroundings and expecting others to make way is one of the prime menaces of the Tokyo streets.

In Tokyo, along most one way streets, bicycles are allowed to ride against the traffic if they ride on their own left.

Just below the one way sign there’s usually a small white sign that says “except bicycles”.

Riding on the wrong side would be riding on the right side of any road, one way or two.

@seven

I have installed a bicycle "drive recorder" on my handlebars,

Do you use a GoPro or something else?

Why not dish out meaningful fines instead of this stupid gimmick?

tokyo_m

Today 06:38 pm JST

For me, bicycles are more dangerous than cars...

> Yeah, right, no doubt you'd much rather be hit by a car than a bike.

> The fact of the matter is, cars are basically death-machines, killing and injuring not just people but also the planet. Bicycles are the solution.

Well I for one wasn't hit by a car while walking on a sidewalk (with metal barriers dividing the pedestrian sidewalk from The road with bicycle lane,

No I was hit by a lady barreling down the hill on her power assisted bicycle on the sidewalk crashing into me throwing me to the ground then yelling at me for not getting out of her way as she rang her bell.

Then she took off as I was still on the ground stunned, as I tried getting up I realized something was wrong with my arm.

It was broken! The police said they had no way of tracking her (no license plate on a bicycle) so I was unable to work for over 2 weeks (I am a craftsman so both hands especially my right hand are needed).

This was in Japan in Canada my late aunt was hit by a fix gear no brake cyclists breaking her hip she never walked again, he had no insurance no money so nothing anyone could do, he ran a stop sign at a pedestrian crossing. And to rub salt in the wound he got hi bicycle returned.

The cost of suing him was more than the family would get from him.

So cars have mandatory drivers license, mandatory license plates and mandatory insurance.

So if you are hit by a car and are injured you will get compensated if you are hit by a cyclist good luck you are on your own.

If we really want people to foll8the law, if we want our roads to end up like China and Vietnam, if we want to promote real change and proper use of bicycles and have proper use of the roads.

Then like what happened with cars after they became a common mode of transportation.

Bicycles need the be licensed, have liability insurance and the cyclists have a license of at least competency to be aware of road laws and regulations.

It isn't only the car drivers responsible to follow the laws and also try avoiding cyclists not following the laws.

hooktrunk2

Today 07:22 pm JST

In Tokyo, along most one way streets, bicycles are allowed to ride against the traffic if they ride on their own left.

> Just below the one way sign there’s usually a small white sign that says “except bicycles”.

> Riding on the wrong side would be riding on the right side of any road, one way or two

Yes but if you look on the ground at every corner you will also notice a stop sign specifically for bicycles going in both directions and if you stand their for 100 days you will not see a single bicycle stop.

So the car driving on the intersection is looking out for a car possibly coming from the one-way direction and suddenly has to emergency brake as a cyclists rides out from the opposite direction without making a stop.

Then that same cyclists will get on the larger 2 way street in the bike lane riding in the opposite direction of the traffic (and in our area the very very very large blue arrows indicating the direction of the bicycle traffic).

And I just went to the convenience store and watched several cyclists doing just that! Riding on the wrong side of the road in the wrong direction in the bike lane.

No bike problems out in the sticks with wide roads.

Bicycle insurance ( 自転車保険 じてんしゃほけん ) has been a legal requirement for bicycle owners in Tokyo and some other large cities since 2020.

Amazing that car drivers can regularly kill bicyclists and pedestrians while routinely violating traffic laws and yet police are deciding to crackdown on bicyclists.

A few years ago, a screaming, entitled BMW driver hit me while I was on a bicycle. She was CLEARLY violating the law and could have easily killed me. The police told me that it doesn’t matter because pedestrians and bicyclists always carry some percentage of the fault. Her insurance company pursued me for months asking for me to pay to fix a scratch on her car until I threatened to sue.

It would be great if the justice system here could move into the 1900s at least.

So how does one acquire an orange ticket?

sethwright

Today 08:42 pm JST

Amazing that car drivers can regularly kill bicyclists and pedestrians while routinely violating traffic laws and yet police are deciding to crackdown on bicyclists

In what world do you live?

Certainly not Japan or any other developed country.

We regularly read about drivers being charged with "professional negligence causing injury or death" and in Japan they go to jail in such cases.

I have never once read about cyclists being arrested for injuring people and the reason is because of the laws.

All car drivers are considered "professional drivers" even if it is a personal vehicle and you drive once a year.

Cyclists are not not considered in that way because no licensing is needed.

So you have it backwards cyclists can run around running people over and ride away without much if any consequences while car drivers are held to a professional and legal standard.

The police told me that it doesn’t matter because pedestrians and bicyclists always carry some percentage of the fault.

I find that hard to believe.

Until recent revisions in the traffic laws, motor vehicles were always presumed to be at fault regardless of the situation.

The recent changes applied only to bicycles putting them in the vehicle category and having to abide by the laws and no longer automatically making the car at fault.

Previously cyclists and pedestrians could jump right infront of a car and the driver was automatically at fault now that applies only to pedestrians cyclists are now treated more like a car, so get insurance if you are riding a bike.

Pedestrians are still kings and queens and never at fault.

So you have it backwards cyclists can run around running people over and ride away without much if any consequences while car drivers are held to a professional and legal standard.

Yet somehow cars are still crashing into people (and a whole lot more) and killing 4-5000 people a year. People on bikes? What 1 or 2?

Someone should let the Angle of Shibuya know about the changes in cycling enforcement

So "riding on sidewalks" is acceptable so long as the cyclist slows down?

I'm a cyclist and I'll admit cyclists in Japan are terrible.

Cycling into traffic, at night, with no lights, holding an umbrella, headphones in. Deathwish.

I agree with Seven. Education is the solution. When I was a kid in England, it was a long walk to school and there was no bus, so I wanted to cycle. But the school had a rule that students who wanted to commute by bicycle had to pass the Cycling Proficiency Test. The police would come to the school and teach basic road skills for cyclists. This course would give you a Cycling Proficiency "Licence." They taught hand signals, how to look behind while going forward, how to make a right turn (we drive on the left in England, like Japan), basic rules of the road and so on.

Why don't they do something like that here?

Isn't it more sensible to teach people the rules FIRST before hitting them for breaking them?

"riding on sidewalks without slowing down" . Saul Goodman would get them off by arguing that they had to slow down in order to be given a ticket

Reckless cyclists in Japan are nothing new but the recent flood of ubereats riders has made things significantly more dangerous.

My first advice to new arrivals or visiting family/friends here is always traffic related:

Be careful on pedestrian crossings, look both ways before crossing a street; especially one-way streets, even look behind you before changing direction on the pavement.

Police need to crack down on this, fines are a great incentive to ride safely if enforced correctly.

Great for Tokyo if this means real bicycle law enforcement. Bicycle usage is a great indicator of how well Japanese obey laws. And foreigners observe how Japanese ride bicycles and take the same liberties. When in Rome, do as the Romans and all that fodderal.

So, what about the rest of the country? Enforce bicycle laws throughout the country. The problem is as bad in other cities as it is in Tokyo. It is often difficult for pedestrians to avoid the bicyclists with umbrellas, cell phones, and cigarettes all in their hands at the same time. Pedestrian beware is my motto when I am walking. Unfortunately, when I am driving, I have to be extra aware because pedestrians and bicyclists are not aware and do not follow their laws, either.

I admit, I will ride through a red light on smaller roads when there's absolutely no other cars coming, or pedestrians crossing the road.

I will also, ride the wrong side of the road sometimes, just as I see the Police doing in my area - it's common sense / practicality in some cases, be seen by oncoming traffic, be aware of oncoming traffic... old fashioned stuff.

As times are becoming tougher for many, I am deeply aware of the Money grabbers - those who purposely go out of their way to try and fake an accident and make it seem like it's your fault - this is something all cyclists need to be aware of. Pedestrians who walk around with their faces seemingly glued to a Keitei is one concern - strange how they meander into your pathway so accurately... also the Pedestrian who continually matches your own destination simply to try and get you to stop, then walk by as if nothing happened... (and that's also when you're riding on the Road) .... both are "power" hungry people, just like the person who stands on an single file escalator going upwards at a slow pace, and then stops momentarily at the top of it...

For Law abiding Cyclists, its time to play the game by the rules being imposed upon you. Seek Legal help for whatever incident no matter how small, and claim huge amounts of Yen. This is the current trend here in Japan, so be careful yourselves, avoid trouble, but when the problem is caused by the other person - sue them, big time. I wish I could sue the Company Director who slammed into me, a few years ago, whilst he was receiving a BJ from his GF (unbeknownst to his Wife...) - his insurance Company back then even tried to mess me over by not paying for a replacement bicycle - which was a somewhat expensive one at the time... I wasn't then clued up on the Law as I am now, and capitulated. Never again! And the Police, even then, tried to blame me... they themselves were wrong - to add insult to injury, they later painted road markings for bicycles upon the exact route I took... contrary to the route they said I should have taken !!!!!

So, Cyclists, beware. Play by the rules, sensibly, when it makes sense.

@BertieWooster - Ah the Cycling proficiency tests, what fun. I totally agree with you, there, though the Rent-a-bike situation here in Japan (and elsewhere) puts a spanner in the works , as there's no requirement to provide evidence as to having passed a basic cycling knowledge test when renting such bicycles...

A dangerous combination of an overly complicated system or rules for riding and people that have no interest in obeying those rules because they are not enforced most of the time (and when they are is mostly an excuse to stop someone). A temporary scare by the police is not going to solve the problem nor make people ride with more responsibility.

EXCELLENT !!...

Something much needed..

Well done Tokyo Keisatsu !!..

I don't know what these "red tickets" are but the j-police really need to start fining reckless cyclist who don't follow basic traffic rules. And not just in Tokyo, this needs to happen everywhere.

I don't know how many times I nearly hit a cyclist or pedestrian for running red lights or stops signs, or riding on the wrong side of the road. But what really irrigates me to no end are mothers who carry their family on a single bike (one child on the back, one child on the front, and another baby strapped to the mother's chest or back. One wrong move, and you can kill an entire family.