crime

Osaka police order mandatory bicycle safety course for traffic violations in nationwide first

24 Comments

In a nationwide first, the city of Osaka has order a man stopped on two separate occasions for violating safe operating regulations for bicycles to take a mandatory riding safety course for which he will be required to pay.

According to police, the individual in question, a 29-year-old man, was first stopped on July 9 for not having his front wheel brakes attached according to the safety code, and then again on July 15 for the same violation, Fuji TV reported.

Last month, revisions to the Road Traffic Law went into effect, stating that anyone riding a bike who is stopped two times within a period of three years for violating bicycle safety regulations such as riding with improperly installed or malfunctioning brakes, riding while intoxicated, among others, would be liable for punishment.

The safety course costs participants ¥5,700 and lasts three hours.

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24 Comments
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What happens if he doesn't do it?

1 ( +1 / -1 )

Good deal! Too many bicycle riders in Japan are slobs. Dangerous slobs. I truly hope other municipalities follow Osaka.

6 ( +8 / -1 )

3 hours will feel like three weeks.

Will this class be multilingual, because I am sure gaijin and high school girls will become common targets.

How about ticketing cars that never stop at stop signs?

4 ( +5 / -2 )

My experience of driving education in Japan was watching a video on safety and a lecture from an old dude. Most people slept.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Wish they give courses to kids so they don't grow up to be the next idiot generation of oblivious bike riders

5 ( +7 / -2 )

How about the country stop bottom-feeding altogether? This is a money grab. Cushy retirement consulting jobs. No need to walk around in green jumpsuits and laptops. Who wants to do that? Walk around all day being hated by the general public. Nooo, it's better to bring them to a center and force people to watch a DVD for 2 hours while you pay for it.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Bring your knitting because these classes should be dominated by grannies. Just saw one this morning pulling an outrageous diagonal intersection crossing around a taxi, whose driver deservedly reacted on his horn.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

"two times within a period of three years" Thats nothing, i get stopped that much just being a gaijin on a bike (with a red sticker on it, to my name and address (feels good)

Things that could be added.

Rule No1 DONT ride down roads the wrong way, ALWAYS head in the same direction as the flow of traffic."

Rule No2 DONT use your cell while riding.

Rule No3 DONT use an umbrella while riding.

Rule No4 Stop at Zebra crossing for pedestrian. (also when driving cars)

Rule No5 Red means STOP green means GO amber mean be aware.

Rule No6 BE aware of your surroundings.

Wonder how many lives these would save if it was a nationwide test.....

0 ( +4 / -4 )

not having front wheel brakes attached? is that such a serious violation? i thought this punishment was only for serious offenders like running red lights or using a keitai. this hardly merits a three hour punishment.

and i agree, they need to ticket those darn jijis and babas that follow their own rules for the road.

-4 ( +3 / -8 )

not having front wheel brakes attached?

Sounds very dumb and dangerous to me.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I've been to the driver safety course a couple of times and it's nothing short of a farce. It lasts about two hours and not one of the hundred or so people in the room paid any attention to the video. There is a quiz to do that you check yourself at the end of the show. Possibly, they know that this presentation is so damn boring and irritating that it is punishment enough.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Sounds very dumb and dangerous to me.

Yeah I never understood the appeal for "NO Brakes". Either way the J-Cops are targetting the wrong people for the wrong actions with the wrong punishments.

Dont listen to music ---> Should be ----> Dont look at your keitai while riding a bike

And a punishment should be a fine of 50000 yen or up and not a 3 hour waste of time course.

As for the user upstairs that commented about the mother with the 2 kids and using a keitai. Dont get me started on those irresponsible twits

2 ( +3 / -1 )

If cars are not ticketed for cruising through stop signs, then leave us simple bikers alone.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

riding while intoxicated

I've always wondered if that was illegal.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

He was probably riding a single speed fixed gear bike that has become popular among the hip crowd. You break with your legs as the cranks keep rotating if you stop pedaling. On these bikes, your legs are your brakes. If your legs are strong you can even make the bike skid, but usually you power down by trying to pedal backwards. Just like Kerin bikes. I prefer real brakes, but I understand the appeal of a fix gear bike. They are called Pisto here in Japan.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

@JT

the city of Osaka has order a man stopped

It shoud be 'ordered'.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Further to hooktrunk2's comment, it'll be pretty funny if it is a hipster on a single speed or other hipster machine. My guess for a 29-y-o would have been some tarted-up "beach cruiser" type of bike. You'd have to be looking pretty hard to notice that a mama chari has no brake under the basket.

Fwiw, the brake on the front wheel has much more stopping effect than the rear. It's usually around a 2/3 to 1/3 split.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The price of a breakpad is what 500-1000yen? If it was my first violation, then yes buy the breakpad.

TY JT for this article. I'll be much more careful and mindful as I enjoy riding around.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Now if police actually bother to do their jobs and enforce this, the city could EASILY make about a billion yen a day for the course alone, plus an additional few billion in the promised fines. That's in one day, guaranteed. Again, that IF they bother to enforce the law, and so far this is the first case I've heard of them doing it, and even then there's no way to ensure the guy does what they've demanded.

Good on them for making the laws, for sure, but the 'law' passed last month has had ZERO effect on the idiocy of bicycle riders in my town in Osaka. Just saw a woman with three children on her bike (two in front of her -- one on the handlebars, one in a small seat/basket that went up to her chest and she had to stretch her arms around -- and one in a regular seat on the back... none with helmets) and groceries hanging from the handlebars while she road on a sidewalk less than a meter in width on the right hand side of the road not ten minutes ago, in fact. When she was riding it looked like she was drunk, the bike was so imbalanced! And that was just one example.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

How about the country stop bottom-feeding altogether? This is a money grab. Cushy retirement consulting jobs.

It's basically an extra-judicial punishment: preventative boredom.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Bicyclists always use to have a good break. this is just money grab.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Some bikes have no front brakes like bikes with back pedal brakes. More over front brakes could be dangerous for unexperienced user.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Finally! Something being done to tame these unruly bike riders. I am so tired of having to avoid them when they run through red lights and stop signs, or riding done the wrong side of the street. I hope they toughen up the penalties everywhere.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

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