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Japanese legislation concerning telephone use while driving came into effect on November 1, 1999. The following translation of the relevant section of the act has been provided to us by Kazuko Okamura, a researcher at the National Research Institute of Police Science, which is part of the National Police Agency of Japan (NPA).

At the bottom, we have included some excerpts from the public information booklet which supported the legislation, also provided by Kazuko Okamura.

Road Traffic Act - Article 71

A vehicle driver must observe the following rules while driving. (Note: other items are not shown here) 5.5
A driver must not use mobile telephone, car phone or other radio communications while driving a vehicle (including moped), except while the vehicle is stopped. This applies to the phone or instruments where a driver cannot receive or make calls without holding it by the hand.

A driver must not stare at the screen of visual instruments while driving, except for the instruments designated in the Article 41.16, 17 or the Article 44.11 of the Road Transport Vehicle Act. Exceptions are made for emergency telephone use for the purpose of rescuing the injured and maintaining public safety.

Article 119
A driver who commits an offence that falls into either of violation category 1-9.2, 9.3, 10-15, is either imprisoned for up to three months, or fined up to 50,000 yen (about US $480.

9.3
A driver who disobeys the article 71.5.5, thus causes a traffic hazard on the road. The specification of "hands-free" was not included in the Japanese legislation and many people rushed to buy cheap ear-phones in order to comply with the new laws that came into effect November 1.

Thanks to the publicity, phone-use related accidents decreased dramatically in the same month and so far have been kept very low in number.

Some excerpts from a public information booklet published in December, 1999

Use of phone and car navigation while driving

Question 7:

Why was the new regulation concerning mobile phone and car navigation use while driving introduced?

Answer:

• Public awareness of the danger in using a telephone while driving
• Pressure on the Municipal Administration Committee in both Upper and Lower Houses of the Parliament, urging it to come to a conclusion regarding the regulation of telephone use while driving.
• The number of mobile phones is on the steep rise, so are the traffic accidents caused by their use (fatalities increased by 32%, injuries by 15% respectively in 1998 from the previous year).

Watching car navigation system while driving - becoming increasingly popular - also caused accidents (injuries increased by 14% in 1998 from the previous year) Considering the factors described above, the new rule for drivers was introduced.

In addition to police enforcing these rules, safety managers in companies are expected to take appropriate steps in their employee driver training & education.

Question 8:

What are the situations in other countries about regulation of telephone / car navigation use.

Answer:

1. Regulation of phoning while driving is in practice in the following countries/ states: Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Malaysia, Singapore, New South Wales (Australia), Massachusetts, Florida, Colorado (USA), Austria.
   In the above mentioned countries, hands-free facility is not included in the regulation.
2. No country seems to have specific regulations for car navigation use while driving, but a regulation on car TV use is in effect in Great Britain and USA (State of New York and other 37 states).

Question 10:

Is telephoning with hands-free facilities also prohibited?

Answer:

• No. Hands-free facility is not included in the "radio communications system where a driver cannot receive or make calls without holding it by one or both hands". With hands-free telephones, drivers would not need to take their attention off the road or take their hands off the wheel.

Question 13:

For whom is the punishment intended? And for what kind of behaviour?

Answer:

• It is aimed at drivers who had an accident or caused a hazardous situation by obstructing other road users, resulting from telephoning.

Question 14:

Is the "Hansoku-kin" punitive measure (administrative fine punishment) applied to drivers who had an accident by violating the Article 71 of the Road Traffic Law?

Answer:

No.

1. "Hansoku-kin" fines are applied only to certain relatively minor offences detected on the spot by the police, in order to facilitate the large amount of administrative procedures necessary to prosecute the offenders if otherwise.
   Note: After the Hansoku-kin fine has been paid by an offender (if he agrees to paying), the public prosecution is dropped under this system. The consequence for the offender is to obtain corresponding demerit points, which can lead to suspension/ cancellation of his driving license if he has accumulated certain points.
2. Although certain drivers who had an accident by violating the law can be treated under the Hansoku-kin, those who had an accident because of using telephones while driving are not.

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