Speed Limits On Some Roads To be Raised

[Mulboyne]

Asahi: 80 kph speed limit in cards
The speed limit for certain ordinary roads will likely be raised to 80 kph following revisions to National Police Agency guidelines on Thursday. The revisions, the first in 17 years, will raise the speed limit for roads that are not used by pedestrians, bicycles or motorcycles or those that meet other safety requirements. For community roads used by residents in everyday life, the maximum speed will be limited, in principle, to 30 kph. The maximum speed for other types of roads will be set at between 40 kph and 60 kph. Prefectural police departments will review speed limits for each road under their jurisdiction by March 2012. The prefectural public safety commission will formally decide the new limits.

[Coligny]

Asahi: 80 kph speed limit in cards
The speed limit for certain ordinary roads will likely be raised to 80 kph following revisions to National Police Agency guidelines on Thursday. The revisions, the first in 17 years, will raise the speed limit for roads that are not used by pedestrians, bicycles or motorcycles or those that meet other safety requirements. For community roads used by residents in everyday life, the maximum speed will be limited, in principle, to 30 kph. The maximum speed for other types of roads will be set at between 40 kph and 60 kph. Prefectural police departments will review speed limits for each road under their jurisdiction by March 2012. The prefectural public safety commission will formally decide the new limits.

There's already some inner roads in Yokohama (3-4 lanes each way) that are 80kph... I don't exactly consider this such a good idea... especially with the awefully bad signalisation for exit, where to exit, and how many nested turn you have to make in said exit to arrive anywhere near where you want to go... The selfishness, aggressivity, psychopatic behaviour of the drivers don't exactly help either...

Now... if they could do something for the ridiculously low highway speed... Not that my car would be able to keep up... But sometimes, overtaking a fishtailing semi truck while staying at legal speed is sorta nerve wrecking...

But... I though low speed were there to save the planet/gaia/babyseals and other do gooder bullshit... does that mean that we can now fuck the planet at will ?

[Kanchou]

Radar detector + 500 HP = no speed limits.

[waruta]

Radar detector + 500 HP = no speed limits.

Diplomatic plates... = no questions asked.

[Coligny]

Diplomatic plates... = no questions asked.

Nissan Note + roofbars = speed limit on the highway... sometimes... and not for long because the noise of the engine expressing his disagreement added to the wind noise from the roffbars might drive you insane.
But on the plus side I don't remember when was the last time I had to feed him... and I'm also sure it was not expensive...

[waruta]

Ya I know the feeling of wind noise. Used to have an older Landcruiser with a full-length aluminium roof rack to hold all the camping/snowboarding gear when all of us went out (2+4 or so friends), thing would howl at 120kph like nothing other. I remember trying to figure out the loss in mileage cause of the damn thing and it was around -2km/L at least on the highway.

Plus with the big tires and roofrack, any garage under 2.3m wasn't going to hold the beast, I finally decided to remove it (such a pain in the ass) and only put it on when we went out camping or boarding. So much less noise without it....

[xenomorph42]

There's already some inner roads in Yokohama (3-4 lanes each way) that are 80kph... I don't exactly consider this such a good idea... especially with the awefully bad signalisation for exit, where to exit, and how many nested turn you have to make in said exit to arrive anywhere near where you want to go... The selfishness, aggressivity, psychopatic behaviour of the drivers don't exactly help either...

Now... if they could do something for the ridiculously low highway speed... Not that my car would be able to keep up... But sometimes, overtaking a fishtailing semi truck while staying at legal speed is sorta nerve wrecking...

But... I though low speed were there to save the planet/gaia/babyseals and other do gooder bullshit... does that mean that we can now fuck the planet at will ?

I'm not sure if this would given that most Japanese drivers ARE extremely aggressive and selfish. I hate the 80km on the highway driving, but it's probably a good thing. If they were to for example raise the speed limit on the highway to 120km, I am quite sure the death toll would increase quite significantly. It's a shame though. Not that I think that I'm Lewis Hamilton
but 80km is bit slow. As far as the roads are concerned, it could equally play out bad. I really don't see anything good come out of this.

[Kanchou]

A study showed that when they raised the speed limit from 75 to 80 in Utah, there was basically zero increase in speeding. People did the same speed they already did (about 85). So if you increase the speed, people will generally still drive at the speed THEY feel is appropriate.

[Coligny]

I'm not sure if this would given that most Japanese drivers ARE extremely aggressive and selfish. I hate the 80km on the highway driving, but it's probably a good thing. If they were to for example raise the speed limit on the highway to 120km, I am quite sure the death toll would increase quite significantly. It's a shame though. Not that I think that I'm Lewis Hamilton
but 80km is bit slow. As far as the roads are concerned, it could equally play out bad. I really don't see anything good come out of this.

Dude... Highway speed limit is 100kph... except for M series BMW/AMG Mercobenz or Audi RSx drivers, then it might be around 250 because of the factory speed limiter. Does not apply to Lambo drivers...

German autobahn (those without speed limit) are not exactly slaughterhouse. I think, in japan, with the huge number of selfish jerks it's more dangerous to have such low limits, because it dramatically increase the delta in speed between law abiding people and those with a god complex (mah car iz fast and I can break dah law). With low highway speed limits, people think they have a huge margin for safely abusing the rules.
I think there was an experiment in small towns in europe to remove all traffic signs. basically, there was no more right of the way signs, stops or stuff like that. The rule was, you'r on your own, behave yourself or get fucked. A sort of reverse "human behaviour experiment*" (* the one were subject commit atrocities because they are covered by order from a hierarchy). Seems to have given quite good result except for the traffic fine revenues...

[Sensei]

I'm kind of surprised they would do this, as it'll eat into a big revenue stream: speed traps. It's the kind of road they love to stake out that they're probably going to raise the speed limits for.

As a rule, Japanese traffic police don't usually monitor city driving, at least not much; if they do, it's at big intersections or offramps--but I have only seen two or three in about 15 years of driving in Japan.

No, they prefer a very specific setup: long, nearly straight runs of road just outside of suburbs--the roads especially that border forests or rivers. These roads are wide, have few intersections, and almost never have pedestrians (sidewalks are behind barriers and wide shoulders anyway). The kind of street that in any other country would have a speed limit of 80KPH. But in Japan, these streets are often limited to half that--40KPH. They typically set up the speed trap just after a slight bend in the road, hiding the radar setup (on a tripod) behind a street lamp pole or something, so that drivers will not see it. They intentionally choose long stretches with no intersections because (a) they know people realize it's safe to drive faster and therefore will be more likely to speed, and (b) speeders will have nowhere to turn before they reach the cop striding out into the street with a flag.

This is typical of Japanese traffic cops: they don't give a rat's ass about safety, but do a great job raking in the traffic fines. I have seen them give out endless tickets for people doing perfectly safe things, and have never once witnessed a person doing dangerous stuff getting tagged. Bosozoku breaking all sorts of laws just glide past police. The cops ticketing honest drivers for not knowing that a 50cc scooter can't make a right turn in a turn lane where there are two other lanes, these cops will not even try to apprehend a motorcyclist running the light--all the biker has to do is not stop, and the cops won't even try to take down their license plate number. All they'll do is blow their whistle and wave, and that's it. And Japanese traffic cops leave the streets at dusk and don't go out into the rain. They're a joke.

So I am glad to hear that the limits--hopefully on these kinds of roads which have laughably low speed limits--are being made more sensible. Now, if only Japanese traffic cops started trying to ticket the dangerous drivers, we'd be getting somewhere.

[Coligny]

After the last typhoon few weeks ago, Toyohashi was kinda hard hit... (i lost me kaki tree in the ordeal). The day after quite a few red lights were out of service (not even blinking red, just OFF). Of course every crossing became a scene from a Bruce Willis in Die Hard movie. NOT A SINGLE COP was out to direct traffic. 2 cars T-boned in front of me sliding 1 cm from me bumper. And we all went to the Koban (me as a visual guest) without the cops not even going to check the scene. If one of them has not been a cute female cop in a damn sexy uniform and my pant full of crap from the relative emotivity from being 1 cm away from being a roadkill I might... have said something stupid that would certainly got me fined or worse... But damn... they really are wankers with a capital W.

But she was hot...

Will stock adult diaper for the next time I have to drive after typhoon strike...

[FG Lurker]

No, they prefer a very specific setup: long, nearly straight runs of road just outside of suburbs

Yes, but they always use the same locations (down to the same fucking post that they hide behind), and they always use constantly on X-band radar. Even the simplest of radar detectors will be freaking out long before the cops can clock you...

[Coligny]

Yes, but they always use the same locations (down to the same fucking post that they hide behind), and they always use constantly on X-band radar. Even the simplest of radar detectors will be freaking out long before the cops can clock you...

Yeah, but I'm sure they will find strange to see that you retrofitted chaffs dispensers on your car...

[Mock Cockpit]

I'm kind of surprised they would do this, as it'll eat into a big revenue stream: speed traps..........

So basically like cops everywhere else in the world. Japan is actually a paradise for speeders, low probability of getting caught, no car confiscation, where I live they don't even look at you until you're 20 over the limit.

[wuchan]

Yes, but they always use the same locations (down to the same fucking post that they hide behind), and they always use constantly on X-band radar. Even the simplest of radar detectors will be freaking out long before the cops can clock you...

um.... you are a long time FG?

out here in the dust fields the coppers hide in trios; one radios to the second when you pass, the second has a stop watch then the second tells the third to pull you over. If you pass the second micro seconds too soon you get a ticket. But yes, they are always in the same place.

[FG Lurker]

um.... you are a long time FG?

Compared to Greji, no... ]out here in the dust fields the coppers hide in trios; one radios to the second when you pass, the second has a stop watch then the second tells the third to pull you over. If you pass the second micro seconds too soon you get a ticket. But yes, they are always in the same place.[/QUOTE]
None of that shit here in Osaka. There will be one cop hiding beside the road with a constantly on radar emitter on a tripod. If he sees a car going too fast he will radio down the road to where 10 to 20 cops have set up base to write tickets en masse.

I'm guessing that one thing is the same though -- speeding at night or in the rain is very unlikely to result in a ticket... Japanese cop logic!