# 道路交通法 / Road Traffic Act — 第二十七条 (Article 27) - 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: 第二十七条 (Article 27)（他の車両に追いつかれた車両の義務） — address `art-27` - Text in force since: 2026-07-21 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/road-traffic-act/art-27 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-27 - 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. --- ### 第二十七条（他の車両に追いつかれた車両の義務） — (Obligations of a Vehicle Being Overtaken by Another Vehicle) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-27 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/road-traffic-act/art-27 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-27 **第一項** 車両（道路運送法第九条第一項に規定する一般乗合旅客自動車運送事業者による同法第五条第一項第三号に規定する路線定期運行又は同法第三条第二号に掲げる特定旅客自動車運送事業の用に供する自動車（以下「乗合自動車」という。）及びトロリーバスを除く。）は、第二十二条第一項の規定に基づく政令で定める最高速度（以下この条において「最高速度」という。）が高い車両に追いつかれたときは、その追いついた車両が当該車両の追越しを終わるまで速度を増してはならない。最高速度が同じであるか又は低い車両に追いつかれ、かつ、その追いついた車両の速度よりもおそい速度で引き続き進行しようとするときも、同様とする。 art-27/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/road-traffic-act/art-27/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-27/par-1 When a second vehicle subject to a higher maximum speed limit as prescribed by Cabinet Order based on Article 22, paragraph (1) (hereinafter referred to in this Article as the "maximum speed limit") catches up with a first vehicle (other than a motor vehicle that a provider of motor carrier services for ride-sharing by general passengers as prescribed in Article 9, paragraph (1) of the Road Transportation Act uses for scheduled transportation on a fixed route as prescribed in Article 5, paragraph (1), item (iii) of that Act or a motor vehicle used for motor carrier services open to specific passengers as prescribed in Article 3, item (ii) of that Act (hereinafter referred to as a "bus"), and other than a trolleybus), the first vehicle must not increase its speed until the second vehicle has finished passing it. The same applies when a second vehicle that is subject to the same or a lower maximum speed limit catches up to a first vehicle, if the driver of the first vehicle seeks to continue to travel at a lower speed than the second vehicle. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 車両（乗合自動車及び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、最高速度が高い車両に追いつかれ、かつ、道路の中央（当該道路が一方通行となつているときは、当該道路の右側端。以下この項において同じ。）との間にその追いついた車両が通行するのに十分な余地がない場合においては、第十八条第一項の規定にかかわらず、できる限り道路の左側端に寄つてこれに進路を譲らなければならない。最高速度が同じであるか又は低い車両に追いつかれ、かつ、道路の中央との間にその追いついた車両が通行するのに十分な余地がない場合において、その追いついた車両の速度よりもおそい速度で引き続き進行しようとするときも、同様とする。 art-27/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/road-traffic-act/art-27/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-27/par-2 Notwithstanding Article 18, paragraph (1), unless a road has vehicle traffic lanes, if a second vehicle subject to a higher maximum speed limit catches up with a first vehicle (other than a bus or trolleybus) and there is insufficient room between the center of the road (or the right edge of the road, if the road is a one-way street; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph) and the first vehicle for the second vehicle to pass, the driver of the first vehicle must give way to the second vehicle by bringing the first vehicle as close as possible to the left edge of the road. The same applies when a second vehicle that is subject to the same or a lower maximum speed limit catches up to a first vehicle, if the driver of the first vehicle seeks to continue to travel at a lower speed than the second vehicle and there is insufficient room between the center of the road and the first vehicle for the second vehicle to pass. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-27/par-1: 道路運送法第九条第一項 → e-Gov law 326AC0000000183, 第九条第一項 (Article 9, paragraph (1)), art-9/par-1 — not held in this collection - art-27/par-1: 同法第五条第一項第三号 → e-Gov law 326AC0000000183, 第五条第一項第三号 (Article 5, paragraph (1), item (iii)), art-5/par-1/item-3 — not held in this collection - art-27/par-1: 同法第三条第二号 → e-Gov law 326AC0000000183, 第三条第一項第二号 (Article 3, paragraph (1), item (ii)), art-3/par-1/item-2 — not held in this collection - art-27/par-1: 第二十二条第一項 → 道路交通法 第二十二条第一項 (Article 22, paragraph (1)), art-22/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/road-traffic-act/art-22/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-22/par-1 - art-27/par-1: この条 → 道路交通法 第二十七条 (Article 27), art-27 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/road-traffic-act/art-27 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-27 - art-27/par-2: この項 → 道路交通法 第二十七条第二項 (Article 27, paragraph (2)), art-27/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/road-traffic-act/art-27/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-27/par-2 - art-27/par-2: 第十八条第一項 → 道路交通法 第十八条第一項 (Article 18, paragraph (1)), art-18/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/road-traffic-act/art-18/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-18/par-1 ## Cited by 3 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 道路交通法 第二十七条第一項（他の車両に追いつかれた車両の義務） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/road-traffic-act/art-27/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-27/par-1 - 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/ja/road-traffic-act/art-27/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/335AC0000000105/art-27/par-2 - 道路交通法 第百二十条第一項第二号 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/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 - This site's parser, version 190 — 道路交通法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-13