Japan Issues 2,147 “Blue Tickets” to Cyclists in 1st Month

Tokyo, May 14 (Jiji Press)–Japanese police issued 2,147 “blue tickets” to fine cyclists for minor traffic violations in the first month since the blue ticket system was introduced April 1, National Police Agency preliminary data showed Thursday. The system allows bicycle riders to avoid criminal punishment for minor violations by paying fines. It has added to the conventional “red ticket” system for serious violations subject to criminal punishment. The total number of blue and red tickets issued in April reached 2,980, down some 40 pct from the same month last year, before the introduction of the blue ticket system. Meanwhile, the number of guidance and warning slips issued to cyclists jumped 1.5-fold from the previous year’s monthly average to 135,855. An NPA official said that the results seem to reflect the emphasis police placed on guidance and warnings at the scenes of minor traffic violations as they tried to make the new traffic rules known more widely to the public. The blue ticket system covers violators aged 16 and over, imposing up to 12,000 yen in fines for 113 types of traffic violation. It was introduced to enhance the effectiveness of police enforcement of traffic regulations, in response to an increase in bicycle accidents and the low indictment rate for red ticket cases. Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department issued 501 blue tickets, the largest number by prefecture. Meanwhile, no such ticket was issued in seven prefectures including Akita in northeastern Japan and Kumamoto in southwestern Japan. Of the total 2,147 blue tickets, 846, the largest number, were issued for ignoring stop signs, followed by 713 for using smartphones while riding and 298 for ignoring traffic lights. About 97 pct of the total fell into the five categories of violations composed of the three plus entering railway crossings with the barriers down and wrong-way driving. For bicycle riding on sidewalks, tickets were issued in five cases while guidance and warning slips were given in 6,308 cases. Under the current rules, only children under 13 and elderly people aged 70 or older are allowed to ride bicycles on sidewalks in principle. But when it is considered dangerous to ride on a road because of large traffic volume, insufficient road width, parked vehicles and other reasons, general riders can use the side of sidewalks that is close to the road to travel slowly. The agency recognizes the public’s anxiety and misunderstandings on the new rules, aiming to raise awareness via websites and others. The April rule change has also made it mandatory for car drivers to secure a safe distance when passing bicycles, but police handled no case violating this. Since the agency has a policy of putting guidance and warnings above ticket issuance, blue tickets were issued mainly to those who ignored police warnings or those who put pedestrians in danger. Following the blue ticket system’s introduction, traffic manners are believed to have improved, police sources said. However, there have been fraud cases in which perpetrators pretend to be police officers cracking down on traffic violations. The agency calls for caution, saying that fines are paid through financial institutions and that police never collect fines at the scene. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]