# 道路交通法 / Road Traffic Act — 第五十五条 (Article 55) - 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: 第五十五条 (Article 55)（乗車又は積載の方法） — address `art-55` - Text in force since: 2026-07-21 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-55 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-55 - 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. --- ### 第五十五条（乗車又は積載の方法） — (Riding and Loading) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-55 · https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-55 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-55 **第一項** 車両の運転者は、当該車両の乗車のために設備された場所以外の場所に乗車させ、又は乗車若しくは積載のために設備された場所以外の場所に積載して車両を運転してはならない。ただし、もつぱら貨物を運搬する構造の自動車（以下次条及び第五十七条において「貨物自動車」という。）で貨物を積載しているものにあつては、当該貨物を看守するため必要な最小限度の人員をその荷台に乗車させて運転することができる。 art-55/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-55/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-55/par-1 The driver of a vehicle must not drive while allowing a passenger to ride in a place not meant to carry a passenger, and must not drive while carrying a load in a place not meant to carry a passenger or a load; provided, however, that, in a motor vehicle built exclusively to transport cargo (hereinafter referred to in the following Article and Article 57 as a "truck") which is carrying cargo, the driver may drive while allowing the minimum number of personnel necessary to guard the cargo to ride on the loading platform. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 車両の運転者は、運転者の視野若しくはハンドルその他の装置の操作を妨げ、後写鏡の効用を失わせ、車両の安定を害し、又は外部から当該車両の方向指示器、車両の番号標、制動灯、尾灯若しくは後部反射器を確認することができないこととなるような乗車をさせ、又は積載をして車両を運転してはならない。 art-55/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-55/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-55/par-2 The driver of a vehicle must not drive while allowing a person to ride or carrying a load in a way that could obstruct the driver's field of vision, the steering wheel, or the operation of other instruments, or diminish the effectiveness of the rearview mirrors, harm the stability of the vehicle, or obscure the vehicle's turn signals, license plates, brake lights, taillights, or rear reflectors when viewed from the outside of the vehicle. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第三項** 車両に乗車する者は、当該車両の運転者が前二項の規定に違反することとなるような方法で乗車をしてはならない。 art-55/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-55/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-55/par-3 The passenger of a vehicle must not ride in or on a vehicle in a way that causes the driver to violate the preceding two paragraphs. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-55/par-1: 次条 → 道路交通法 第五十六条 (Article 56), art-56 — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-56 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-56 - art-55/par-1: 第五十七条 → 道路交通法 第五十七条 (Article 57), art-57 — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-57 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-57 - art-55/par-3: 前二項 → 道路交通法 第五十五条第一項 (Article 55, paragraph (1)), art-55/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-55/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-55/par-1 - art-55/par-3: 前二項 → 道路交通法 第五十五条第二項 (Article 55, paragraph (2)), art-55/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-55/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-55/par-2 ## Cited by 6 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 道路交通法 第五十五条第三項（乗車又は積載の方法） — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-55/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-55/par-3 - 道路交通法 第五十六条第一項（乗車又は積載の方法の特例） — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-56/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-56/par-1 - 道路交通法 第五十六条第二項（乗車又は積載の方法の特例） — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-56/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-56/par-2 - 道路交通法 第五十七条第一項（乗車又は積載の制限等） — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-57/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-57/par-1 - 道路交通法 第百二十条第二項第一号 — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-120/par-2/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-120/par-2/item-1 - 道路交通法 第百二十一条第一項第九号 — https://japanlaw.org/en/road-traffic-act/art-121/par-1/item-9 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-121/par-1/item-9 --- ## 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