Article 71Rules to Be Observed by Drivers

一to have mudflaps on the vehicle or streetcar, drive at a reduced speed, or take other measures so as not to cause a nuisance to others by scattering mud, dirty water, and other materials when driving through mud or puddles;

二to come to a stop or drive at reduced speed so as not to obstruct the progress of a vehicle for persons with physical disabilities, a blind person using a Cabinet-Order-prescribed cane or guide dog referred to in Article 14, paragraph (1), a deaf person or a person with a Cabinet-Order-prescribed degree of physical disability referred to in Article 14, paragraph (2), either of whom is walking with a Cabinet-Order-prescribed cane as referred to in that paragraph, or so as not to obstruct the progress of an elementary schooler or child not yet of school age who is walking without a custodian;

二の二to come to a stop or drive at reduced speed so as not to prevent an elderly pedestrian, a pedestrian with a physical disability, or a pedestrian with difficulty using the road from proceeding, beyond as set forth in the preceding item;

三to drive at a reduced speed when going past the edge of a safety zone on the left side of a road in which there is a pedestrian;

四to take the necessary measures to prevent persons riding in the vehicle or streetcar from falling from it and to prevent loaded objects from falling or scattering from it, such as closing the doors of the vehicle or streetcar and loading cargo properly onto the vehicle or streetcar;

四の二to take the necessary measures to prevent a road hazard in the event that an object loaded onto the vehicle or streetcar has fallen or been scattered from it, such as removing the fallen or scattered object promptly;

四の三to not open one of the vehicle's or streetcar's doors or get out of the vehicle or streetcar without confirming the safety of doing so, and to take the necessary measures to prevent others riding in the vehicle or streetcar from causing a traffic hazard by unsafely opening the doors or getting out of the vehicle;

五to take the necessary measures to keep the vehicle or streetcar stopped when leaving the vicinity of a vehicle or streetcar, such as turning off the motor or engine and fully engaging the brakes;

五の二to take the necessary measures when leaving the vicinity of a motor vehicle or motorized bicycle, in keeping with the vehicle's equipment, to prevent the vehicle from being driven or ridden by someone without permission to do so;

五の三to not suddenly put the motor vehicle or motorized bicycle in motion, suddenly increase its speed, or increase its engine speed without transferring the power of the engine to its wheels in a manner that makes a noise causing an extreme nuisance to others, without a legitimate reason for doing so;

五の四when driving a motor vehicle, if a person prescribed in Article 71-5, paragraphs (1) through (4) or Article 71-6, paragraphs (1) through (3), or a person who has been issued a provisional driver's license as prescribed in Article 84, paragraph (2), is driving a marked motor vehicle (meaning a semi-mid-sized motor vehicle bearing a mark as prescribed in Article 71-5, paragraph (1), Article 71-6, paragraph (1) or Article 87, paragraph (3), or a standard motor vehicle bearing a mark as prescribed in Article 71-5, paragraphs (2) through (4), Article 71-6, paragraph (2) or (3), or Article 87, paragraph (3); the same applies hereinafter in this item), then, unless circumstances compel the driver to do so in order to prevent a hazard, to neither squeeze toward the side of that moving marked motor vehicle nor change course if doing so would mean that a marked motor vehicle approaching from behind on the same course that the motor vehicle would be on after changing course could not maintain the necessary distance as prescribed in Article 26 between itself and that motor vehicle;

五の五when driving a motor vehicle, motorized bicycle or bicycle (hereinafter referred to in this item as a "motor vehicle, etc."), except when that motor vehicle, etc. is at a stop, to neither use a cellular telephone, car phone, or other wireless telephone (but only one that cannot be used to transmit or receive communications unless all or part of it is held in the hand; referred to as a "wireless telephone" in Article 118, paragraph (1), item (iv)) to make telephone calls (other than essential emergency calls to aid injured or sick persons or to maintain public safety while that motor vehicle, etc. is in motion; the same applies in that item) nor focus attention on an image displayed on an image display device (other than one as prescribed in Article 41, paragraph (1), item (xvi) or (xvii) or Article 44, item (xi) of the Road Transport Vehicle Act; the same applies in Article 118, paragraph (1), item (iv)) installed in or carried into that motor vehicle, etc.;

六rules that a public safety commission establishes in consideration of road or traffic conditions, having found it to be necessary to do so in order to prevent road hazards or otherwise ensure traffic safety, beyond as set forth in the preceding items.