Driving in Japan

Many of us in the US make comments about how certain ethnic groups drive. We may not want to admit it but you know we do. Well, now that I live in Japan, I now see where it comes from. Whatever we may think, times that by 10 here.

I must say I would consider myself to be a defensive driver and in some parts of the U.S., you need to be. I'm somewhat of a speed demon, put the medal to the petal sort of driver. Japan is putting a stop, well somewhat, to all of that.

Let's first start with the speed limits. Most streets, you have to drive 30-40 kilometers. That's 18-25 mph. That's how fast I can drive down Noble Rd. without getting caught by the speed camera. You know many folks have been caught by the trap, me included, 4 times at $90 a ticket. The maximum speed limit on the larger busy streets are 50-60 kilometers. That is 31-37 mph. In Cleveland, to stay on the safe side, I would drive 40 mph safely without getting stopped. Now on the highways, the speed limit is 80 kilometers. That is about 50 mph. You know I'm having a hard time! Many drivers stick to the speed limit and some drive below that. The audacity! There never really ever seems to be any urgency about getting to work or wherever drivers are going to.

Moving on to the narrow streets. Not sure if they were created so narrow because most of the cars are so small. Regardless of the size of the road, I always seem to be hugging the curb because the drivers coming in my direction on the 2 lane roads tend to lean so close to the middle line that they always seem to be awfully close to clipping me or causing a head on collision. Another thing about the narrow streets, cars still park on these streets which force drivers to go around and end up in the oncoming traffic's lane. In the states, you have to give the ride away to the car who has no car to go around. That rule doesn't apply here it seems. Drivers don't try to squeak by, they outright come into your lane, really potentially causing a head on collision. The buses are known to do that so you just better get out of the way.

There are a lot of motor scooters in Japan. It was at first rare to see. The scooters rule here. If you see a brotha in Cleveland on a scooter, I think he will be laughed at. Not in Japan. My thoughts though about the scooters driven by the guys, they would really rather have a motorcycle (scooters I'm sure are less expensive) because they drive like they are on one. They zoom in and out of traffic and when I say they zoom in and out, I mean they cut you off, sneak up on you from behind, drive between you and the car next you, creating a 3rd lane. At first it was scary because if you are not careful, you could really cut them off and send them flying. They come out of no where so you don't know they are there until it is too late. Now everything they do is illegal but they don't seem to care. I don't think the police have time to try and catch them because it is such the norm. You so have some scooters who drive as if they are sightseeing. They drive slow and hold up traffic. Some cars pass them while in the scooter driver's lane opposed to getting in the other lane to go around. Crazy! Two things I do like about the scooters. Because the traffic is so bad here, you can get to your destination pretty quickly by cutting through backed up traffic. The other, seeing women drive them. They look large and in charge! For these reasons, I think I would like to get me one.

Now as some of you may know, driving in Japan can be a challenge for some, including myself. I had to get used to driving on the left side of the road and the steering wheel being on the right side of the car. I still find myself going to the left side to enter the car and as some of you know, I did make the mistake of driving down the wrong side of the street a couple of weeks ago. It happens to the best of us. I actually almost did it again today, this time off of base. I have to pay closer attention before I pull out into traffic. Inside the car, the turn signal is on the right of the steering wheel and the wiper on the left so I often reach for the wiper when I want to use the turn signal. My car that I have now, my second one since being here in Japan, has the stick shift next to the wiper, meaning old school stick shifts. In the states, it is between the 2 seats. Not sure why they are still making it like this. I'm having to get used to this.

All in all, Japan is turning me into a gentler driver. No road rage here. When a red light turns green and you don't go, no one will honk at you. They just sit patiently until you stop texting, dialing a number, putting on makeup, or whatever you are doing. If you need to enter the street and the traffic is heavy, they politely let you enter. None of that, "I'm not letting them in." They will even stop and hold up the moving traffic to let you in. I do love that about Japanese/Okinawan drivers, they are so polite and cordial. A lesson to be learned by all.