tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post116236395605410587..comments2008-08-04T16:07:45.247+09:00Comments on My So-Called Japanese Life: Since the Police Have Nothing Better to DoUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post-1162581331726953852006-11-04T04:15:00.000+09:002006-11-04T04:15:00.000+09:00Most of the larger and more "bicycled" routes do h...Most of the larger and more "bicycled" routes do have seperate lanes for cyclists these days. Some of these lanes are just reserved portions of the carlane though, and can be used by cars when there are no cyclists on the road.<BR/><BR/>The more rural areas and older cities like Amsterdam don't have a lot of these seperate lanes (called a "fietspad" btw) which calls for more safety if you don't want to end up in some kind of nasty waterway.<BR/><BR/>It is in fact forbidden to drive your bike on the sidewalk here, this is because of the pedestrian safety...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post-1162469517959078352006-11-02T21:11:00.000+09:002006-11-02T21:11:00.000+09:00Don't people ride in the streets with cars in the ...Don't people ride in the streets with cars in the Netherlands? That'd require a higher level of safety compared to Japan where people ride on the sidewalks.Sharihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17419851636570519145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post-1162465073548278032006-11-02T19:57:00.000+09:002006-11-02T19:57:00.000+09:00Here in the netherlands the police mostly like to ...Here in the netherlands the police mostly like to trouble the highschool students. They'll stand in front of the gates and check every bike for working lights and such.<BR/>I only used my bike to get to school one year, and only encountered one police blockade which I simply bypassed by using the sidewalk, eventhough there was nothing wrong with my bike. <BR/><BR/>Illegal parking can be a big problem though, but it seems you'll only get fined in one of the bigger cities...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post-1162457829031537052006-11-02T17:57:00.000+09:002006-11-02T17:57:00.000+09:00Luis: I'm not sure what motivated all the parking ...Luis: I'm not sure what motivated all the parking policy changes. Since I'm not a driver, I don't know if there were a lot of people obstructing cars or walkways but it seems as though the range of parking possibilities for everything has been shrinking steadily. <BR/><BR/>Your brother tells me that he discussed this with students and they told him that, previously, the chances of being caught were low enough that the cost of tickets in total was lower than the cost of paid parking. That probably had something to do with the crackdown. It's just unfortunate that people like you get screwed over by people who willfully violated rules because they could.<BR/><BR/>In our area, they keep expanding the no parking zone around the stations for bikes and there are no legal parking areas aside from limited 100 yen a day places about 6 minutes from JR station (and none near the subway). I think it's all part of a racket to put more money in someone's hands. :-p<BR/><BR/>Roy: I agree about the drunkenness and cells phones but the double-riding seems less dangerous that the mothers with a kid in the front and a kid in the back. Also, the bike lighting thing is just absurd, particularly in a well-lit city. While I think they should encourage people to use their lights, I can't see fining them for it.<BR/><BR/>I wasn't aware that a lot of people stole "gomi" bikes though I don't know how you can "steal" something which is garbarge? Also, what happens to people who get caught "stealing" those bikes? Fines? Jail? Beaten into submission? ;-)<BR/><BR/>While I'd like to buy a more expensive bike and wear cyclist gear to keep cops from treating me like a criminal because I ride a housewife (shopping) bike, I can't really see it as worth the money or hassle just so I can tool around my local area doing errands. Of course, in my case, the cop actually said he only stopped foreigners so I know it was about my nationality, not my bike. I haven't been stopped except for that one incident and that was awhile ago.Sharihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17419851636570519145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post-1162456270455255952006-11-02T17:31:00.000+09:002006-11-02T17:31:00.000+09:00If you ride a shopping bike the cops will stop you...If you ride a shopping bike the cops will stop you. I was stopped all the time in the past and I don't even look visibly foreign. But if you wear a helmet and cycling gear and ride a mountain bike and anything that's not a shopping bike, the cops won't even look at you. <BR/><BR/>When I lived in the gaijin house, almost everyone there stole gomi bikes and almost everyone got caught by the cops.<BR/><BR/>I'm all for the police cracking down on drunk bicyclers or people talking on the phone while on a bike. It's so dangerous for pedestrians and driver's cause they are so unpredictable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post-1162455188827076482006-11-02T17:13:00.000+09:002006-11-02T17:13:00.000+09:00Argh. I hate this stuff. I recall years ago, when ...Argh. I hate this stuff. I recall years ago, when I was riding my bike home from the station in Koganei (I had a regular bicycle back then), it was night time. I was riding in the street near the curb. There was practically no traffic, and it was very safe.<BR/><BR/>A cop stopped me, and demanded that I ride on the sidewalk. He stressed the safety. I pointed out that the sidewalk was under foliage and had no lighting; the street was more open and well-lit. The cop insisted. So I went on the sidewalk... and about two blocks later, my tire hit something obscured in the dark, I fell off the bike, and hurt myself while ruining a pair of work slacks.<BR/><BR/>In Japan, they also tend to get fascist about parking, too. I've been going to Nishi-Shinjuku every other week recently, sometimes for lunch with Sachi, and sometimes for doctor's visits. They have recently ratcheted up the parking policy, so that in practically all of Nishi-Shinjuku, bike/scooter parking <I>everywhere</I> is only allowed for people who pay monthly fees and get permit stickers. Which sucks if you go there infrequently--you have to park a mile away or risk getting ticketed.<BR/><BR/>The thing is, before they did this, there was never a huge problem with the bikes--there was always a place to park, and things didn't look too crowded.<BR/><BR/>I know that you can probably park for an hour or more and only risk a warning, but there's no guarantee. I parked near the NS Building a month or so to have lunch with Sachi, and had to scramble back to re-park, as a team of parking enforcers were slapping official tickets on every parked bike on the street, headed towrd my bike. And if I park anywhere in the area when one of those retired old guys they get to enforce the rules, they insist I park elsewhere--usually in paid parking lots hundreds of meters away, which always are full and refusing new vehicles anyway.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com