Article 17Traffic Distribution

①On a road with demarcations between a sidewalk or a side strip (hereinafter referred to in this Article and paragraph (1) of the following Article as a "sidewalk or side strip") and the roadway, a vehicle must proceed along the roadway; provided, however, that this does not apply if circumstances compel the driver to cross the sidewalk or side strip in order to enter or leave a facility or place outside the road, or when the vehicle passes through the sidewalk or side strip to the extent necessary for the driver to stop or park on the sidewalk or side strip pursuant to Article 47, paragraph (3) or Article 48.

②In a case as referred to in the proviso to the preceding paragraph, the vehicle must come to a stop immediately before entering the sidewalk or side strip and must not prevent pedestrians from proceeding.

③A vehicle other than a specified small motorized bicycle (meaning a motorized bicycle that falls under Article 2, paragraph (1), item (x), (b); the same applies hereinafter), a two-wheeled or three-wheeled bicycle, or any other vehicle that satisfies the criteria that Cabinet Office Order prescribes as being of a body size and structure not likely to hinder other vehicles from proceeding on a bicycle path (this excludes such vehicles with a sidecar and those that are towing other vehicles) must not enter onto a bicycle path; provided, however, that a vehicle may cut across a bicycle path if circumstances compel the driver to do so in order to enter or leave a facility or place outside the road.

④A vehicle must proceed along the part of the road (or the part of the roadway, if the road with demarcations between the sidewalk or side strip and the roadway; the same applies hereinafter through Section 9-2) to the left of the center (if a railway track runs along the side edge of a road, this means the center of the part of the road that does not include the track bed, and if a center line is indicated by road signs or markings, the center of the road is the part of the road that is indicated to be the center line; the same applies hereinafter) (hereinafter, the part of the road to the left of the center is referred to as the "left side" of the road).

⑤Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, a vehicle may stray fully or partially onto the part of the road to the right side of the center (hereinafter referred to as the "right side" of the road) in the cases set forth in the following items. In such a case, the driver of the vehicle must ensure that as little of the vehicle as possible strays onto the right side, except in the case set forth in item (i):

⑥It is prohibited for a vehicle to enter a safety zone or any other part of the road that road signs or markings indicate is not being made available for vehicle traffic.