Rules of the Road

During my stay here in Japan so far, I have noticed many things about driving which seem to differ from the U.S.A, besides driving on the other side of the road. There seems to be four sets of rules which are fallowed on the road:

First is cars:
As a road was built for cars they have the main say in the end. But driving habits seem to be a bit.... different here. I have often found myself clinging to the sides of my seat praying to live through the experience. Don't get me wrong, there good drivers on the roads but they seem to be young people. When I feel as though I am in a life threating position seems to be when I am driving with older people, particularly women (not a sexist comment, just from my experiences). There seems to be a lot of stopping in the middle of the road randomly or turning from the wrong lane. But other then my scary experiences as a passenger I have observed the social rules of driving seem to be different. People are far more common to stop to let someone to the line, or just driving more passively in general. Also roads are quite narrow so there is often no actual turn lane, so people just stop in the middle of the road to turn and other cars swerve around them. Needless to say I am very cautious about my surroundings when a pedestrian.

Second is pedestrians:
Pedestrians are pretty much the same as the U.S.A. Stick to the side walks and cross walks and you are safe. J-walk at you own risk. Pretty Standard.

Third are bikes:
Bicycles are a mix between the pedestrian and the car. They can ride on the side walk or on the road. Side walks here in Miyazaki are plenty wide enough for both pedestrians and bicycles and are made for both. Most bicycles are one speed and come equipped with at least a basket in front for various things, some have the nifty platform above the back tire and or saddle bags for carrying additional loads. Most mothers have one or two child seats in addition to a basket. The bicycle is really the way to travel here in my opinion.

Fourth, last but not least, is scooters:
These things are a drive at your own risk. They tend to have a max mph of 30-40 and fit into no other group. Most people drive on the very edge of the road to avoid getting mowed down by cars doing twice the speed. When cars stop at a red light most mozy their way up to the front of the line between cars to get a burst of a head start before getting passed by everyone once again. I often see scooters drive up onto the side walk to park. Please wear a good helmet while driving one of these crazy vehicles.

Though I have made the roads seems unbelievable dangerous and should be avoided at all costs, there are actually very few accidents here in Miyazaki. Probably because there is not the shear volume of cars that we have in the U.S, maybe also because all these driving rules seem like something normal so everyone knows what to look out for. I tend to see tons of scooters around the school because in terms of getting a license it is much more affordable then a car. A scooter costs about 300$ where as a car license costs about 3000$. I personally enjoy being a pedestrian or riding my bicycle.

On an ending note.... I have seen one policeperson in my 7 months here in Japan, and he had pulled over a scooter because it was going under the speed limit. This is quite a different place indeed.