Driving: Road rules

[Ultraman]

I am curious about the turning rules at an intersection.
I am turning left at a cross roads, the other car on the other side is turning to their right.
Who gives way?

[nice gaijin]

If there is a stop light, you should be turning at different times, so the person turning right would have to wait for the green arrow. Otherwise, I would assume it's the person turning left, since the person turning right is turning across a lane of traffic. Might not be the case though, there are others who know the rules of the road far better than myself.

[FrustratedDave]

If there is a stop light, you should be turning at different times, so the person turning right would have to wait for the green arrow. Otherwise, I would assume it's the person turning left, since the person turning right is turning across a lane of traffic. Might not be the case though, there are others who know the rules of the road far better than myself.
This is Japan we are talking about here right? I didn't know there were traffic rules??? It was my understanding that it is everyone one for themselves once they give that little plastic thing called a licence.

Just a run down on basic rules here in the Kansai region.
Traffic signals:
Green means go.
orange means go, but get across the intersection as quick as possible.
Red means go, but just be careful when doing so.
Also as a general rule, if the car in front of you runs a red light, than it is pretty safe to say that you can too.
Other rules:
pull in front someone so they have to slam on the brakes.
When pulling out into traffic only look the way you are intending on going.
Never ,ever use indicators, this will only confuse the motorists around you.
Your horn is used for telling people that you are not going to stop at stop sign marked intersection.
Ignore pedestrian crossing when ever possible.
If you are a high school student you are automaticaly given the right to ride a bicycle two sometimes three abreast with you school mates, even though the road is as narrow as one way street at home.

Well, now to answer the question seriously. As NiceGaijin said, the person turning left has right of way when all signals are taken out of the equation.

Let me guess people in the other postion try to turn in front of you?

[Mars Man]

Yes, signal or no signal (unless it's a stop sign and the other driver arrived at the intersection first (not at the same time, even)) the vehicle which has to cross through the lane of opposing traffic has to yield--as best I recall it.

I could be mistaken on there actually being a written 'rule' on that though.

[FrustratedDave]

Yes, signal or no signal (unless it's a stop sign and the other driver arrived at the intersection first (not at the same time, even)) the vehicle which has to cross through the lane of opposing traffic has to yield--as best I recall it.
I could be mistaken on there actually being a written 'rule' on that though.
Yes I believe it is a written rule.

[Glenski]

Assuming the two of you are there at the same time, the person turning left has the right to proceed first. As mentioned, the other person is facing oncoming traffic and has to yield, even if there is no traffic to be seen. Friend of mine was driving through an intersection (straight through), and a car in the opposite direction was waiting to turn right. The other guy decided to turn right in front of my friend simply because the light turned yellow. I guess he figured my friend would stop immediately. He stopped, all right, after crashing into the *****. Well, the police showed up and put most of the blame on the *****. (Beware of that word "most". Probably in the majority of cases, there is the 80-20 rule here, so you can't always get off without paying something.)

Of course, the rules of the road also say that you must turn left into the left-most lane, if there is more than one lane going in your direction. Skip over into the right lane as you turn, and it's illegal, so if you hit the other guy who was turning right, he has a legitimate claim against you.

So, why the question? Did you have an accident and want to know who is to blame?

[Ultraman]

Hi Glenski,

My wife is driving me around at the moment, and I pinged her about a give way situation. It appears that I owe her an apology.

I have an Oogata licence, but the insurance on the car we are using is more expensive for younger drivers (under 35). We are waiting till my birthday next year before I go on the insurance papers.

Ahh... frugality, the bane of my existence here.

[Mars Man]

And...just in case, since you may be new at driving here Ultraman, be sure to stop on the white painted line at all intersections with stop signs or traffic lights (as it is turning red and you stop, you may go over a bit, but do be careful) BECAUSE it is illegal and you can get a point for it.

It's so silliy in some cases, though, because you'll have to stop twice at some interesections where you are coming to a major road from a smaller road with a stop sign. I remember getting so, SO angy when sitting at a 7-11 and seeing some officer (who had kind of been hiding ) jump out a blow the whistle on a driver who had come up and stopped in a place where he could actually SEE the road he had planned on turning onto. The stupid white line had been painted some 4 meters back, back beside the 7-11 which was hogging the corner. The officer stood in front of the vehicle and made the guy (family in car) back up all the way to that line, and then told him 'this is where you are to stop.' I did not get involved, but boy oh girl did that piss me off !!

So beware those type of places...when it's balancing the budget time of year.

[FrustratedDave]

A I guess he figured my friend would stop immediately. He stopped, all right, after crashing into the *****. Well, the police showed up and put most of the blame on the *****. (Beware of that word "most". Probably in the majority of cases, there is the 80-20 rule here, so you can't always get off without paying something.)

So, why the question? Did you have an accident and want to know who is to blame?
As you probably know, in the case pedestrians and cyclists, even if the other person is at fault if you are driving a car you are to blame. Hows that for ridiculus.

I am with Glenski, is there a reason for wanting to know?

[FrustratedDave]

I did not get involved, but boy oh girl did that piss me off !!

Talk about getting pissed off, I was not going to say this but any way.

I was in an accident a few years ago, it was car to car.

So me and the wife are driving down a two way road with two lanes on each side. We were driving in the right lane. Out of the blue a car from the oppisit side of traffic careens into the oncomming traffic, he hits a truck at almost right angles (so you can see the how badly he veered off) , after hitting the truck he sort bounces straight and we hit him head on in a new Toyota Landcruser, we had no chance do anything and after the report came out I think I had braked for only 10f which is considered an instant. Well after a few dased moments I get out of the car and go over to the guy that just slammed into us, as I get closer he makes a run for it, so he was ok.... it seems.

Anyway, what happened was he had an epileptic fit and lost cousiousness.
This is where the fun begins. The police start questioning me and the truck driver. "How could you have avoided this accident?" one asks. Well duh... If the guy didn't have a fit I wouldn't be here. "Yes I understand that sir but was there any way that you could have prevented the accident?" Umm..... let me think... Oh yeah... If I had not gotten out of bed this morning and decided to go shopping this whole thing would have been avoided. I didn't say any of this to him only answered ,"no there was nothing that could possibly be done", but the questions were riduculus. Anyway the truck driver and me were found partly at fault(A very small part, mind you) for driving on that road at that particular time, but any monkey could see that there was absoulely nothing we could do, he veered at an almost right angle which tells anyone that he came into the oncomming traffic in an instant. And to put the icing on the cake, the other driver had no licence, never gone for a licence and I suppose never intends to either.

Well thats my story, sorry the derail Ultraman.

[Ultraman]

My experiences have been rather positive so far...

Last time I was driving around, the police used to man a pedestrian crossing in the morning for the school kids. It was right next to work.
A cop came round to give all the drivers a safety lecture one day. We watched two safety videos and listened to a brief lecture.

Video 1 & 2 had a 30 second anime intro on truck driving and drink driving accidents.
The next hour on each video was interviews with widows.
The lecture was "if you see a policeman while driving, put your seat belt on".

The policeman at the pedestrian crossing always looked the other way if I forgot my seatbelt, and that would remind me to put it on.
School kids waiting to cross could also observe the effect of the policemans prescence on drivers.

[Mike Cash]

And...just in case, since you may be new at driving here Ultraman, be sure to stop on the white painted line at all intersections with stop signs or traffic lights (as it is turning red and you stop, you may go over a bit, but do be careful) BECAUSE it is illegal and you can get a point for it.
It's so silliy in some cases, though, because you'll have to stop twice at some interesections where you are coming to a major road from a smaller road with a stop sign. I remember getting so, SO angy when sitting at a 7-11 and seeing some officer (who had kind of been hiding ) jump out a blow the whistle on a driver who had come up and stopped in a place where he could actually SEE the road he had planned on turning onto. The stupid white line had been painted some 4 meters back, back beside the 7-11 which was hogging the corner. The officer stood in front of the vehicle and made the guy (family in car) back up all the way to that line, and then told him 'this is where you are to stop.' I did not get involved, but boy oh girl did that piss me off !!
So beware those type of places...when it's balancing the budget time of year.

There is a very good reason for the stop lines being set far back from the intersections in some places.

The lines are drawn at the position where a truck making a turn into the road from the crossroad can just barely make the turn without encroaching into the line of stopped traffic. At wide intersections, it isn't a problem and the line can be very near the intersection. At narrow intersections, it has to be set back several meters.

At intersections with traffic lights, it would be very helpful to the flow of traffic if folks would actually stop a couple of meters before the line and try to keep either in the middle of the lane or as far to the left as possible.

Nothing can snarl things up faster than cars ignoring the line and going out beyond it, making it impossible for a truck to turn, and thus impossible for the traffic behind the truck to proceed. Cars tend to stop bumper-to-bumper, so often the offending party can't even back up a bit and make room. Next thing you know the light has changed and everything is all bolloxed up.

As idiotic as the placement of the lines may appear to folks who only drive cars, there is indeed a logical reason behind it.

[Mars Man]

Yes, I hear you Mike, and I make it a point to give that extra room as often as I can on the roads where I'm quite sure there'll be a chance of a truck making a turn while I'm there. I have for a good while now, tried to put myself in the truck driver's position.

That said, however, I think we will find those occasional places where it's just silly. Now actually, what I am really doing is complaining about the silly road designs in some areas. (Of course I live in a castle-town, and that can make some difference too) BUT I am full agreement with you and feel for the guys that drive those really big rigs....wow.

I also feel for you, FrustratedDave; that sounds like a bad scene. I'm glad at least neither of you were hurt.

[mr.sumo.snr]

As soon as I read this I thought: "Sounds like something I once heard NZ drivers have to do i.e. give way to oncoming traffic wishing to turn right". Is this true? (I did note your nationality)

France has a very screwball intersection rule: give way to traffic as it enters a roundabout i.e. if you're on a roundabout you must yield unless signposted otherwise.

I must admit that the half dozen or so times I've driven in France it makes for more rapid overall roundabout navigation - that's if the process doesn't scare you to death.

--

[Ultraman]

As soon as I read this I thought: "Sounds like something I once heard NZ drivers have to do i.e. give way to oncoming traffic wishing to turn right". Is this true? (I did note your nationality)
Yup, in NZ the idea is not to have right turning vehicles waiting in the middle of the intersection.
The give way rules are pretty simple there. Give way to all vehicles approaching from the drivers side. Sort of instinctive watching for traffic that can crash into your side of the vehicle.

Now I have learned that in Japan the right turning vehicle gives way to the left turning vehicle. I wasn't aware of it until now.
I was driving trucks on a little island for a year, but there was such a small population(2000), that there was no traffic to speak of(2 traffic lights on the island), and we would give way to the elderly drivers at intersections(local custom).

Regarding the French round abouts; you mean you can enter a round about without having to look, and round about traffic must look out for you?