THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
August 3, 2023 at 18:03 JST
Police officers tell a cyclist to ride safely in Tokyo in October. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Cyclists who run a red light or ignore a stop sign may be fined under plans by the National Police Agency to crack down on bicycle traffic violations that do not lead to serious consequences, officials said Aug. 3.
The monetary penalties would be administrative, the same as a motorist paying a traffic ticket.
Currently, bad cycling can only be met with criminal penalties, which may be excessive in cases where no injury, damage or disruption results.
The NPA plans to submit a bill to revise the Road Traffic Law to the ordinary Diet session next year. It will do so after it receives a recommendation from a panel of experts by the end of the year.
The NPA will discuss what types of minor traffic violations would be subject to the proposed administrative penalties.
The change would more or less align the penalty system for cyclists with that for motorists.
Vehicle drivers are exempted from criminal penalties for minor traffic violations if they pay administrative penalties under the traffic infraction notification system.
They are served a blue ticket for such offenses.
The NPA plans to have cyclists be covered by the traffic infraction notification system as well.
Currently, they are not covered because violations by cyclists were fewer than those by drivers when the system was introduced in 1967.
Criminal penalties are already imposed for cyclists who commit more severe traffic violations.
They face fines or imprisonment for infractions such as running a red light, ignoring a stop sign and riding without a light.
They are served a red ticket for such offenses.
Accidents involving bicycles have been increasing, sometimes resulting in injuries to pedestrians.
Last year, 24,549 cases of traffic violations in which cyclists were mostly issued a red ticket were sent to prosecutors, more than a threefold increase from a decade earlier.
Still, indictments are rare.
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