I’m sure you’ll be devastated to hear that new rules coming into Japan in the summer will stop you from making calls or blocking the rain whilst cycling. According to Asahi (the news company, not the beer);
Proposed revisions this spring will ban cyclists from holding an umbrella, listening to music, gabbing on the phone and riding in other reckless ways, sources said.
I can see the logic here. I wouldn’t call listening to music “reckless” if you have the volume down low. I move an extra rule be added “If the rider is listening to C-ute, he or she deserves what’s coming. Bonus points to be awarded to drivers for swerving to hit said rider.”
The article goes on to state;
“Triple-riding,” an unsafe practice in which a rider carries two children on a bicycle in attached front and rear seats, will also be prohibited.
Triple-riding will be punishable by a fine of up to 20,000 yen. Warnings will be issued for other violations.
Quite a hefty fine for providing two people with a helpful lift. Notice that whilst the article doesn’t mention “double-riding”, it also doesn’t talk about other multiples of people on one bike. My theory here is to bring enough people on the bike to avoid the rule. If all I get is a warning for balancing fourteen people on one bike then so be it. Notice it also states nothing about animals. Finally some slack for the many giraffe owners of Tokyo.
Not a particularly exciting news article so far, huh? Don’t worry. It’s all about to change;
Other more minor infringements, such as constantly ringing a bicycle bell while riding on a crowded sidewalk, will also be discouraged.
Yes! YES! Yes! Finally! There is nothing worse than walking along a sidewalk and having some idiot come up behind you and ring their bell every ten seconds. I seem to remember strolling down the pavement with friends in Oji and, upon being annoyed by some bell happy fool, forming a one person line in front of them. At least now I can rugby tackle them and perform a citizen’s arrest.
But wait! It gets better!
Under the proposed revisions, bicycles will in general be required to be ridden in road lanes, not on pedestrian sidewalks.
I don’t know if I should consider this an early birthday present (March 29th!) or a late Christmas present, but either way this is the best news I’ve heard in a while. Bikes were the absolute scourge of the pedestrian; swinging out in front of you left, right and centre. More than once I considered jamming a stick into the spokes of some annoying kid’s stupidly expensive bike.
So there you are. One-nil to us walkers. But what of the unicyclists?
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you know riding on the pavenment has been illegal for years! even though policemen ride on the pavenment too! AND there are NO bike lanes in tokyo so where am i supposed to ride my bike??!! aaahhh confusion!
Lynsey: Really? I guess it’s “more banned” now, then :D Maybe you aren’t supposed to ride your bike at all, just carry it everywhere??
Hey there – just wanted to chip in. We’ve had municipal laws on the books here for about a year now that punish drunken bicycling with the same penalties as drunk driving. We also have older laws about double-riding, and umbrella-holding. Some people purchase these little attachment holders that clamp umbrellas to the bike, thus avoiding the danger of arrest, but not the danger of being thrown from their bike in heavy winds or when riding downhill. Sigh. Craziness. I wish they’d pass a law that said not properly using your bell was a crime!
Deas: Apparently overuse of bells will be stopped. Not absoloutly sure how – unless they have some sort of speeding camera that detects bell ringing… (nearly) all change is good change though I guess.
Do you see unicyclists in Japan?
David Weisman: I saw one, once, and he wasn’t on the roads. But this nes must make him worry. :(
It’s easy to get around busy cities using a bicycle and more cyclists = more accidents. It’s going to be tough for police to ticket and regulate ’saddle habits’. An alternative is to increase public awareness about the dangers of these habits.
Will cyclists now also be required to obey traffic laws? As a driver, there is nothing more frightening to me than cyclists going every which way, completely unpredictable and following no known law.
Smoother & Drew: Both of your comments suggest to me just one thing; make cyclists fair game. I say let them cycle wherever they want, but as soon as you sit on that saddle you are totally responsible. Problem solved ;)