Japanese traffic violations
So you have finally got your car and your International or Japanese driver's license in order. Now you have to make sure you keep it by obeying the road rules.
The laws for driving in Japan are very different to those in our own countries and the fines and penalties can be very high. They have also been revised recently to make them stricter.
Let's brush up on some of the important laws and their penalties.
Major road laws and penalties
| Type of violation | Demerit points | Penalty | ||||
| BAC 0.03 |
BAC 0.05 |
|||||
| Driving under the influence of drugs | 25 | 3 years Jail | ||||
| 500,000 | ||||||
| Dangerous driving | 25 | 2 years Jail | ||||
| 500,000 | ||||||
| Driving without a license | 19 | 20 | 23 | 1 year Jail | ||
| 300,000 | ||||||
| Driving large sized vehicle without proper permit | 12 | 13 | 19 | Court | ||
| Probationary license infringement | 12 | 13 | 19 | Court | ||
| Driving under the influence of alcohol | 6 | 13 | 1 year Jail | |||
| 300,000 | ||||||
| Drink driving* | 25 | 3 year Jail | ||||
| 500,000 | ||||||
| Driving with fatigue | 13 | 1 year Jail | ||||
| 300,000 | ||||||
| Driving an unregistered car | 6 | 9 | 16 | Court | ||
| Driving without insurance | 6 | 9 | 16 | Court | ||
| Speeding | 50km or more over | 12 | 13 | 19 | Court | |
| 40km–50km | 6 | 9 | 16 | Court | ||
| (Expressway) | 35km–40km | 6 (3) | 9 (8) | 16 (15) | -35,000 | |
| 30km–35km | 6 (3) | 9 (8) | 16 (15) | -25,000 | ||
| 25km–30km | 3 | 8 | 15 | 18,000 | ||
| 20km–25km | 2 | 7 | 14 | 15,000 | ||
| 15km–20km | 1 | 7 | 14 | 12,000 | ||
| 15km or under | 1 | 7 | 14 | 9,000 | ||
| Illegal parking | No standing areas | 3 | 18,000 | |||
| No parking areas | 2 | 15,000 | ||||
| Illegal stopping | No standing areas | 2 | 7 | 14 | 12,000 | |
| No parking areas | 1 | 7 | 14 | 10,000 | ||
| Ignoring traffic signals | Red light | 2 | 7 | 14 | 9,000 | |
| Blinking lights | 2 | 7 | 14 | 7,000 | ||
| Failure to obey one way signs | 2 | 7 | 14 | 7,000 | ||
| Illegal braking | 2 | 7 | 14 | 7,000 | ||
| Illegal passing | 2 | 7 | 14 | 9,000 | ||
| Failure to stop at a railway crossing | 2 | 7 | 14 | 9,000 | ||
| Failure to give right of way | 2 | 7 | 14 | 7,000 | ||
| Failure to proceed safely through intersection | 2 | 7 | 14 | 9,000 | ||
| Disturbance to pedestrians | 2 | 7 | 14 | 9,000 | ||
| Failure to slow down | 2 | 7 | 14 | 7,000 | ||
| Failure to stop at specified place | 2 | 7 | 14 | 7,000 | ||
| Load limit | 10% over | 3 | 8 | 15 | 35,000 | |
| 10-50% over | 2 | 7 | 14 | 30,000 | ||
| 50% over | 1 | 7 | 14 | 25,000 | ||
| Poor condition of equipment | Brakes | 2 | 7 | 14 | 9,000 | |
| Taillights | 1 | 7 | 14 | 7,000 | ||
| Use of mobile phone while driving | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Causing a disturbance to children | 2 | 7 | 14 | 7,000 | ||
| Noisy driving | 2 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Lack of muffler | 2 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Failure to comply with rules of expressway or road | 2 | 7 | 14 | 9,000 | ||
| Infringement on license conditions | 2 | 7 | 14 | 7,000 | ||
| Failure to show plate number | 2 | 7 | 14 | |||
| Illegal use of bus priority lane | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Crossing at non-designated areas | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Tailgating | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Illegal lane changing | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Failure to give way to passing vehicle | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Pushing into a lane | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Illegal turning at intersection | 1 | 7 | 14 | 4,000 | ||
| Failure to drive in designated area | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Failure to give right of way at intersection | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Disturbance to ambulances / fire trucks | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Illegal entrance into intersection | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Failure to use headlights | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Failure to dim lights | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Failure to give warning signs (horn, etc.) | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Illegal loading of a passenger vehicle | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Over maximum allowed passenger limit | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Failure to observe Load size limit | 1 | 7 | 14 | 7,000 | ||
| Illegal loading method | 1 | 7 | 14 | 7,000 | ||
| Failure to prevent falling load | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Failure to wear seatbelt | 1 | 7 | 14 | |||
| Failure to use child restraints | 1 | 7 | 14 | |||
| Failure to wear helmet | 1 | 7 | 14 | |||
| Illegal motorcycle riding | 1 | 7 | 14 | |||
| Failure to show "Wakaba" mark | 1 | 7 | 14 | 4,000 | ||
| Illegal style of merging | 1 | 7 | 14 | 4,000 | ||
| Failure to display accident signs | 1 | 7 | 14 | 6,000 | ||
| Muddy driving | 6,000 | |||||
| Failure to comply with Safety committee instructions | 6,000 | |||||
| Lack of driving log | 4,000 | |||||
| Failure to carry license | 3,000 | |||||
Fatal or near-fatal Accidents
If your driving causes a fatal accident, the laws are very strict no matter whether it was your fault or not. If dangerous driving, lack of license, fatigue, alcohol or drugs play a part in the negligence, there are serious repercussions in the shape of fines and jail time.
| Type of accident | Demerit points | ||
| Negligence | No negligence | ||
| Death | 20 | 13 | |
| Major injury | 13 | 9 | |
| Minor injury | 30 days–3 months hospitalization | 9 | 6 |
| 15 days–30 days hospitalization | 6 | 4 | |
| Up to 15 days hospitalization | 3 | 2 | |
| Damage to buildings | |||
| Deliberately caused accidents or dangerous driving causing fatal injuries | 45 | ||
Hit and run accidents
Hit and run accidents could lead to up to 5 years in Jail or a fine of 500,000 yen or less due to the following violations:
| Types of violation | Demerit points |
| Violation of duties to take the measures to aid at traffic accident with casualties. | 23 |
| Violation of duties to take the measures to prevent hazards at an accident with damage to a vehicle or other property | 5 |
If you cause an accident, make sure you stop!
You will notice that there are two categories of drink driving in Japan, "drink driving" and "driving under the influence". Both of them have some very serious fines.
Driving under the influence is related to your blood alcohol content. You will see that the lowed BAC for penalties is actually 0.03. While this is lower than most countries (Australia is 0.05, USA and Canada is 0.08), it is not zero. But this doesn't mean you can have a few drinks and then drive home. The "drink driving category" is unrelated to BAC, and can be enforced even if the slight hint of alcohol is present. The penalties for this category are also higher.
On a side note, in Japan, they measure the blood alcohol concentration in mgs. A BAC of 0.03 related to the Japanese scale of 0.15mg and a BAC of 0.05 relates to 0.3mgs.
So the bottom line is, don't drink and drive at all! There are so many other ways to get home after a big night out. You have trains, taxis, buses and don't forget the "Daikō", a service that will drive you and your car home for you. Ask the owner of the bar to call one for you by saying "Daikō onegaishimasu!".
Drinking while driving is by all means a no go. But if you are caught breaking other road rules while under the influence, the penalties and demerit points are even higher. You will be able to see the difference in the table above. The more you drink, the harsher the penalties.
For example, failure to wear a seatbelt when sober will only earn you one demerit point, but add that to a few drinks and you have lost your license for 30-90 days.
Demerit point system
Aside from having to pay huge fines every time you break the law, losing your license due to racking up demerit points is no fun either.
The longest length of time you can have your license cancelled for is 5 years. The more times your license is suspended or cancelled, the tougher the penalties will be in the future if you break the law again. Demerit points have a life span of 3 years. You can reduce the number of points or suspension time by taking part in driver's education classes, but these are in Japanese only.
The following tables explain how the points relate to minimum length of license suspension or cancellation. Please not that these are minimums, as it also depends on how serious the offence is.
The least amount of demerit points require to lose your license (cancellation) for the first time is 15 points. Anything less than 15 is a suspension if its your first time.
| Length of suspension/ Demerit points required |
Length of cancellation/ Demerit points required |
|||||||||
| Number of suspensions | 30 days | 60 Days | 90 days | 120 days | 150 days | 180 days | 1 year |
2 years |
3 years |
4 years |
| None | 6-8 | 9-11 | 12-14 | - | - | - | 15-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45 + |
| 1 | - | 4-5 | 6-7 | 8-9 | - | - | 10-19 | 20-29 | 20-29 | 40 + |
| 2 | - | - | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | 5-14 | 14-24 | 24-34 | 35 + |
| 3 | - | - | - | 2 | 3 | - | 4-9 | 10-19 | 20-29 | 30 + |
| 4 or more | - | - | - | - | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - |
How to read the table: For example, if you are charged with dangerous driving (25 demerit points) and you have never had your license suspended in the past, the length of cancellation would be 2 years.
Resources
http://www.ibaankyo.or.jp/
http://www.jaf.or.jp/
http://www.driveandstayalive.com/articles%20and%20topics/drunk%20driving/artcl--drunk-driving-0005--global-BAC-limits.htm