Reckless cyclists to be required to take road traffic lectures

Tokyo, Feb 14 (Kyodo) Japan's National Police Agency today unveiled a plan to legally require reckless cyclists who have repeatedly violated road traffic rules to take lectures on safe cycling. The draft bill to revise the 1960 road traffic law obliges malicious cyclists aged 14 or older who are caught breaking the traffic rules two or more times to undergo a safety training program, which involves reciting notes written by bereaved families of traffic accident victims, agency officials said. The bill is intended to prevent traffic accidents involving cyclists and pedestrians, following a sharp rise in the number of such cases from 1,817 in 2001 to 2,806 in 2011. It does not cover youths as they cannot be charged criminally under the Penal Code, the officials said. The agency will study introducing fines to those who refuse to attend the safety lessons. It plans to seek public comments on the bill from Friday and aims to obtain Diet approval of it during the current 150-day regular session that runs through June 26, they said. The number of road traffic law violations involving cyclists reached 5,321 across Japan in 2012, a nine-fold increase from 2006. The total includes 1,650 cases in which traffic lights were ignored, 1,424 cases involving faulty brakes, and 849 cases involving illegal entry into closed railway crossings. In 2011, police recorded 3,956 cases involving cyclists suspected to have violated the road traffic law. However, just 17 of those offenders had criminal charges filed against them by prosecutors. The road traffic law designates bicycles as light vehicles that are subject to traffic regulations similar to motor vehicles. But some experts question an imposition of penalties for cyclists, citing the absence of a licensing scheme for riders. In addition, the bill seeks to increase the penalty for those who drove motor vehicles without a license to imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 500,000 yen, from the current imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 300,000 yen. The bill also sets out a new penalty for those who provide motor vehicles to drivers without a license to imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 500,000 yen. For those who asked an unlicensed driver to give them a ride and get in a car driven by them, the bill calls for a punishment of a jail term of up to two-years or a fine of 300,000 yen. The bill also seeks to penalise those that suffer from diseases such as epilepsy that may impair their driving, and who fail to report it at the time of the acquisition or renewal of a license. It also requires doctors to voluntarily report to police about patients with such diseases. (KYODO) GJS 02141434 NNNN