# 道路交通法 / Road Traffic Act — 第十六条 (Article 16)

- Law: 道路交通法 (Road Traffic Act), 昭和三十五年法律第百五号
- English title "Road Traffic Act": Ministry of Justice translation
- Kind: Act — the distinction between 法律 (Act), 政令 (Cabinet Order), 省令 (Ministerial Order) and 条例 (local ordinance) decides who may issue it and what it may say.
- Provision: 第十六条 (Article 16)（通則） — address `art-16`
- Text in force since: 2026-07-21
- URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-16
- Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-16
- Every provision below carries its address and both URLs on the line under it.
- Japanese text: e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁). English: as marked on each line below.

Only the Japanese as published by the government has legal effect; the text
below is a copy of it. Every English rendering below is a translation and
says which kind: the Ministry of Justice's translation, or this
site's machine translation, whose model and date the Sources list names.
They are never merged and never substituted for one another.

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### 第十六条（通則） — (General Rules)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-16 · https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-16 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-16</sup>

  **第一項**  道路における車両及び路面電車の交通方法については、この章の定めるところによる。
  <sup>art-16/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-16/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-16/par-1</sup>
  The rules for vehicle and streetcar traffic over roads are governed by this Chapter.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

  **第二項**  この章の規定の適用については、自動車又は原動機付自転車により他の車両を牽引する場合における当該牽引される車両は、その牽引する自動車又は原動機付自転車の一部とする。
  <sup>art-16/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-16/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-16/par-2</sup>
  To apply this Chapter, a vehicle that is being towed by a motor vehicle or motorized bicycle is deemed to be part of that motor vehicle or motorized bicycle.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

  **第三項**  この章の規定のうち交差点における交通に係る規定は、本線車道を通行している自動車については、適用しない。
  <sup>art-16/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-16/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-16/par-3</sup>
  The provisions of this Chapter that pertain to traffic at intersections do not apply to a motor vehicle proceeding along a main roadway.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

  **第四項**  この章の規定の適用については、自転車道が設けられている道路における自転車道と自転車道以外の車道の部分とは、それぞれ一の車道とする。
  <sup>art-16/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-16/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-16/par-4</sup>
  To apply this Chapter to a road with a bicycle path, the bicycle path is treated as one roadway and the part of the road that is not the bicycle path is treated as another roadway.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

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## Sources

- e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 道路交通法 — the text in force from 2026-07-21 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/335AC0000000105/20260721_508AC0000000052), retrieved 2026-10-13
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Road Traffic Act — Ministry of Justice translation (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/2962/tb), retrieved 2026-10-13
- This site's parser, version 190 — 道路交通法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-13