# 道路交通法 / Road Traffic Act — 第十八条 (Article 18) - 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: 第十八条 (Article 18)（左側寄り通行等） — address `art-18` - Text in force since: 2026-07-21 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-18 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-18 - 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. --- ### 第十八条（左側寄り通行等） — (Keeping to the Left When Proceeding Down a Road; Related Considerations) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-18 · https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-18 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-18 **第一項** 車両（トロリーバスを除く。）は、車両通行帯の設けられた道路を通行する場合を除き、自動車及び一般原動機付自転車（原動機付自転車のうち第二条第一項第十号イに該当するものをいう。以下同じ。）にあつては道路の左側に寄つて、特定小型原動機付自転車及び軽車両（以下「特定小型原動機付自転車等」という。）にあつては道路の左側端に寄つて、それぞれ当該道路を通行しなければならない。ただし、追越しをするとき、第二十五条第二項若しくは第三十四条第二項若しくは第四項の規定により道路の中央若しくは右側端に寄るとき、又は道路の状況その他の事情によりやむを得ないときは、この限りでない。 art-18/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-18/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-18/par-1 Unless a vehicle (other than a trolleybus) is proceeding down a road with vehicle traffic lanes, it must proceed down the road keeping to the left side of the road if it is a motor vehicle or general motorized bicycle (meaning a motorized bicycle that falls under Article 2, paragraph (1), item (x), (a); the same applies hereinafter), and keeping to the left edge of the road if it is a specified small motorized bicycle or a light road vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a "specified small motorized bicycle or light road vehicle"); provided, however, that this does not apply when the driver is passing; if the driver is moving towards the center or right edge of a road pursuant to Article 25, paragraph (2) or Article 34, paragraph (2) or (4); or if road conditions or other circumstances compel the driver to do otherwise. machine translation, not official **第二項** 車両は、前項の規定により歩道と車道の区別のない道路を通行する場合その他の場合において、歩行者の側方を通過するときは、これとの間に安全な間隔を保ち、又は徐行しなければならない。 art-18/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-18/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-18/par-2 When passing a pedestrian while proceeding, pursuant to the preceding paragraph, down a road without demarcations between the sidewalk and the roadway or in any other case, the driver of a vehicle must maintain a safe distance between the vehicle and the pedestrian or drive at a reduced speed. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第三項** 車両（特定小型原動機付自転車等を除く。）は、当該車両と同一の方向に進行している特定小型原動機付自転車等（歩道又は自転車道を通行しているものを除く。）の右側を通過する場合（当該特定小型原動機付自転車等を追い越す場合を除く。）において、当該車両と当該特定小型原動機付自転車等との間に十分な間隔がないときは、当該特定小型原動機付自転車等との間隔に応じた安全な速度で進行しなければならない。 art-18/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-18/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-18/par-3 When a vehicle (other than a specified small motorized bicycle or light road vehicle) goes by on the right side of a specified small motorized bicycle or light road vehicle proceeding in the same direction as that vehicle (excluding one proceeding on a sidewalk or bicycle path) (excluding the case of passing that specified small motorized bicycle or light road vehicle), and there is not sufficient distance between that vehicle and that specified small motorized bicycle or light road vehicle, the vehicle must proceed at a safe speed suited to the distance from that specified small motorized bicycle or light road vehicle. machine translation, not official **第四項** 前項に規定する場合においては、当該特定小型原動機付自転車等は、できる限り道路の左側端に寄つて通行しなければならない。 art-18/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-18/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-18/par-4 In the case prescribed in the preceding paragraph, that specified small motorized bicycle or light road vehicle must proceed keeping to the left edge of the road as far as possible. machine translation, not official --- ## Cites - art-18/par-1: 第二条第一項第十号 → 道路交通法 第二条第一項第十号 (Article 2, paragraph (1), item (x)), art-2/par-1/item-10 — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-2/par-1/item-10 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-2/par-1/item-10 - art-18/par-1: 第二十五条第二項 → 道路交通法 第二十五条第二項 (Article 25, paragraph (2)), art-25/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-25/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-25/par-2 - art-18/par-1: 第三十四条第二項 → 道路交通法 第三十四条第二項 (Article 34, paragraph (2)), art-34/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-34/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-34/par-2 - art-18/par-1: 第四項 → 道路交通法 第三十四条第四項 (Article 34, paragraph (4)), art-34/par-4 — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-34/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-34/par-4 - art-18/par-2: 前項 → 道路交通法 第十八条第一項 (Article 18, paragraph (1)), art-18/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-18/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-18/par-1 - art-18/par-4: 前項 → 道路交通法 第十八条第三項 (Article 18, paragraph (3)), art-18/par-3 — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-18/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-18/par-3 ## Cited by 11 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 道路交通法 第十八条第二項（左側寄り通行等） — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-18/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-18/par-2 - 道路交通法 第十八条第四項（左側寄り通行等） — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-18/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-18/par-4 - 道路交通法 第二十条第三項（車両通行帯） — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-20/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-20/par-3 - 道路交通法 第二十七条第二項（他の車両に追いつかれた車両の義務） — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-27/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-27/par-2 - 道路交通法 第四十一条第一項（緊急自動車等の特例） — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-41/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-41/par-1 - 道路交通法 第四十一条第三項（緊急自動車等の特例） — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-41/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-41/par-3 - 道路交通法 第四十一条第四項（緊急自動車等の特例） — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-41/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-41/par-4 - 道路交通法 第四十一条の二第四項（消防用車両の優先等） — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-41-2/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-41-2/par-4 - 道路交通法 第百十七条の二の二第一項第八号ロ — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-117-2-2/par-1/item-8/sub-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-117-2-2/par-1/item-8/sub-2 - 道路交通法 第百十九条第一項第六号 — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-119/par-1/item-6 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-119/par-1/item-6 - 道路交通法 第百二十条第一項第二号 — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-120/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-120/par-1/item-2 --- ## 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 - claude-sonnet-5-5 — Machine translation, batch road-traffic-act-20261013T074321-003, translated 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