Statutory speed limit in Japan defaults to 100 km/h (62 mph) for divided national expressways and 60 km/h (37 mph) for any other roads, unless otherwise posted.[1] The highest speed limit in Japan is 120 km/h (75 mph) on some sections of Shin-Tōmei Expressway (E1A) and Tōhoku Expressway (E4).[2] Urban two-way streets are usually zoned at 40 km/h (25 mph) or less.[3]
A standard sign indicating a speed limit of 60 km/h (37 mph) and a minimum speed limit of 50 km/h (31 mph)
Variable speed limit signs used on expressways. Sign on the left denotes the limit for heavy trucks, trailers and three-wheelers.
Statutory maximum speed limits of 100 km/h (62 mph) applies on divided national expressways and 60 km/h (37 mph) on other roads. There are no separate urban or rural statutory limits. Urban and rural limits are set by zoning rather than statute. Statutory speed limits for heavy trucks with GVWR over 8 t (17,640 lb), trailers and three-wheelers are restricted to 80 km/h (50 mph) on divided national expressways.
Implementation of speed limits in Japan can be summarized as:
regulatory speed limits of 30 km/h (19 mph) on residential streets and 40 km/h (25 mph) are common for urban two-lane roads.
regulatory speed limit of 40 km/h (25 mph) or 50 km/h (31 mph) is common in rural areas due to rugged mountainous terrain.
regulatory speed limit cannot be set higher than 60 km/h (37 mph) for any streets with an at-grade intersection, or where pedestrians or cyclists are permitted.
undivided expressways have a limit of 70 km/h (43 mph).
emergency vehicles are not exempt but have speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph) on most roads and 100 km/h (62 mph) on divided national expressways, unless higher speed limit is posted. Police vehicles are exempt during speeding enforcement.
Enforcement
Speed camera installed on a rural street. The minimum threshold for the speed camera is 29 km/h (18 mph) but the speed limit cannot be set higher than 60 km/h (37 mph) as the street is not a controlled-access highway.
Radar unit used by police speed enforcement
Speed camera
A threshold for speed cameras in Japan is set at a minimum of 39 km/h (24 mph) above the limit on an expressway and a minimum of 29 km/h (18 mph) above the limit on other streets, where drivers will face criminal charges instead of traffic infractions. This is due to legal precedents dating back to 1969 restricting police from filming an individual unless a criminal offence is immediately being committed.[4]
Police enforcement
Although there is no official tolerance for exceeding the speed limit, most drivers in Japan tend to drive over the speed limit on major roads.[5][6] Police enforcement varies depending on the jurisdiction, officers, traffic flow and street types, but 19 km/h (12 MPH) above the speed limit on an expressway and 14 km/h (9 MPH) above the limit are generally tolerated on other streets.[7]
In 2020, a total of 1,162,420 speeding tickets were issued across Japan, and only 199 tickets were issued for speeding between 0–14 km/h (0-9 MPH) over the limit.[8] Of the 199 tickets for speeding 0–14 km/h (0-9 MPH) over the limit, Iwate Prefectural Police alone issued 166 tickets.[8] For speeding between 15 and 19 km/h over the limit, Hokkaido, Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka and Fukuoka had the largest shares of tickets issued.[8]
In contrast, Okinawa did not issue any tickets for speeding between 0–19 km/h (0-12 MPH) over the limit. Tokyo Metropolitan Police issued a total of 68,693 speeding tickets, but gave out only seven tickets for speeding between 0–19 km/h (0-12 MPH) over the limit.[8] Some jurisdictions, such as Tokyo Metropolitan Police, release traffic enforcement locations on their websites.[9]
Speed limit guidelines
In Japan, speed limit cannot be set higher than 60 km/h (37 mph) for any streets with at-grade intersection or where pedestrians or cyclists are permitted. In other words, the street must be converted to controlled-access highway with costly grade separation to achieve speed limits higher than 60 km/h (37 mph). There is also major distinguishment between surface streets (一般道路, ippan dōro) and expressways (高速道路, kōsoku dōro) when setting speed limits and different criteria are used.
Although some surface streets such as viaducts, trunk and bypass roads are built to expressway standards, many are not legally classified as expressways and are typically distinguishable by the colour of direction signs: surface streets use blue direction signs while expressways use green signs.
Surface streets
Speed limits for surface streets are set within ±10 km/h (6.2 mph) of the reference speed limit below. Reference speed limits do not apply to expressways.
Factors affecting the Reference Speed Limit (Reason for deviating from 85th speed)
1
Urban
2 lanes
-
High
51.9 km/h
40 km/h
Urban and high pedestrian volumes
2
Low
57.1 km/h
50 km/h
Urban
3
4+ lanes
Yes
High
59.0 km/h
50 km/h
Urban and high pedestrian volumes
4
Low
64.1 km/h
60 km/h
Urban
5
No
High
58.7 km/h
50 km/h
Urban, high pedestrian volumes, and undivided
6
Low
63.9 km/h
50 km/h
Urban and undivided
7
Rural
2 lanes
-
High
58.2 km/h
50 km/h
High pedestrian volumes
8
Low
63.3 km/h
60 km/h
Maximum speed set by police
9
4+ lanes
Yes
High
65.3 km/h
60 km/h
Pedestrian
10
Low
70.4 km/h
60 km/h
Maximum speed set by police
11
No
High
65.0 km/h
50 km/h
High pedestrian volumes and undivided
12
Low
70.1 km/h
60 km/h
Undivided
Residential Streets
Narrow streets primarily used by local residents, often without a sidewalk, where the safety of pedestrians and cyclists should be warranted over travel speed of vehicles.
30 km/h (in principle)
20 km/h limit may be set on case-by-case basis for the following:
Street has a higher percentage of vulnerable road users, such as seniors.
School zones, but only where specifically needed.
Strong requests from local residents.
Street not designed for motorized vehicles but still permitted due to unavoidable circumstances.
Roads Structure Emphasizing the Traffic Function of Automobiles
Surface roads (excluding expressways and motorways) that satisfy the following conditions:
Minimum design speed of 60 km/h
No at-grade intersection
Divided
and has low crash rates
70 km/h or 80 km/h (in principle)
For speed limits 70 km/h and above, the road should be closed to pedestrians, cyclists, and mopeds in principle. Note: This criterion only applies to surface streets and does not apply to expressways and motorways. See Speed limits in Japan#Expressways for expressway adaptation speeds.
Definitions
Urban: DID (Densely Inhabited Districts), defined as at least two adjacent census districts with a population density of 4,000/km2 and a combined population greater than 5,000.
Rural: non-DID
Divided: Road must be separated by solid physical structures such as raised curb or fence. Roads divided by raised pavement markers or delineator posts are classified as "undivided".
High Pedestrian Volumes
Urban: 701 people/12 hr
Rural: 101 people/12 hr
Low Pedestrian Volumes
Urban: ≤ 700 people/12 hr
Rural: ≤ 100 people/12 hr
Expressways
Speed limits for expressways are set at 100 km/h (62 mph) or lower speed. The speed limit is set with respect for the lowest "structure compatible speed" (構造適合速度, kōzō tekigō sokudo) criteria below, that is based on design speed.[11] It doesn't mean that speed limit should be set in units of 20 km/h (12 mph), but 70 km/h (43 mph) speed limit is not so common except two-lane expressways and there is no 90 km/h (56 mph) speed limit.
Intercity expressways typically have higher speed limits, while urban expressways within major cities often have 60 km/h (37 mph) limits and two-lane expressways, typically in rural and remote areas, have 70 km/h (43 mph) limits for undivided and 80 km/h (50 mph) limits with physical separation.
Most expressways outside of cities have active variable speed limit signs and maximum speeds are lowered according to road conditions such as congestions, accidents, constructions and severe weather. When the statutory speed limits are in effect on national expressways, variable speed limit signs are left blank to indicate the statutory speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) for heavy trucks and 100 km/h (62 mph) for other vehicles. Two sets of variable speed limit signs are installed when the regulatory speed exceeds statutory speed of 100 km/h (62 mph) on national expressways or 80 km/h (50 mph) on other roads to regulate the maximum speed of trucks, trailers and three-wheelers to 80 km/h (50 mph).
Speed limits can be set at maximum 120 km/h (75 mph) if it has low crash rates, both structure compatible speed and design speed is 120 km/h, the length is 20 km (12 mi) or more.
Curve Radius and Superelevation
Curve Radius (m)
Adaptation Speed
Design standard
Exceptional
Superelevation (%) Inclusive-Exclusive
0 - 1
1 - 2
2 - 3
3 - 4
4 - 5
5 - 6
6 - 7
Curve radius (m)
1134
1031
945
872
810
756
709
120 km/h
(710)
(570)
716
656
606
562
525
492
463
100 km/h
(460)
(380)
420
388
360
336
315
296
280
80 km/h
(280)
(230)
218
202
189
177
167
157
149
60 km/h
(150)
(120)
141
131
123
116
109
104
98
50 km/h
(100)
(80)
84
79
74
70
66
63
60
40 km/h
(60)
(50)
47
44
42
39
37
35
34
30 km/h
(30)
21
20
19
17
17
16
15
20 km/h
(15)
Sight Distance
Sight distance
Adaptation Speed
210 m ≤
120 km/h
160 m - 210 m
100 km/h
110 m - 160 m
80 km/h
75 m - 110 m
60 km/h
55 m - 75 m
50 km/h
40 m - 55 m
40 km/h
30 m - 40 m
30 km/h
< 30 m
20 km/h
Combined Superelevation/Slope Gradient
Combined Gradient
Adaptation Speed
Below 10%
120 km/h
10% but below 10.5%
80 km/h
Above 10.5% but below 11.5%
50 km/h
Road Slope
Slope
Adaptation Speed
5% and below
120 km/h
Above 5% but less than 6%
100 km/h
Above 6% but less than 7%
80 km/h
Above 7% but less than 8%
60 km/h
Above 8% but less than 9%
50 km/h
Above 9% but less than 10%
40 km/h
lane width (3.5 m ≤ : 120 km/h, < 3.5 m : 80 km/h)
shoulder width (1.75 m ≤ : 120 km/h, < 1.75 m : 80 km/h)
References
^"The Order for Enforcement of the Road Traffic Act (Japanese)". Government of Japan. Government of Japan. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
^"新東名高速道路における最高速度120キロの試行開始について" (in Japanese). 2 February 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
^"Driving in Japan". Japan-Guide.com. Japan-Guide.com. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
^警察庁交通局; 交通規制課 (2014-04-02), 最高速度規制の点検・見直し等の更なる推進について(通達)(PDF), p. 3
^生活道路におけるゾーン対策推進調査研究検討委員会 (March 2011). 生活道路におけるゾーン対策推進調査研究報告書 (PDF) (Report). p. 23.
May 18, 2023
speed, limits, japan, also, speed, limits, country, statutory, speed, limit, japan, defaults, divided, national, expressways, other, roads, unless, otherwise, posted, highest, speed, limit, japan, some, sections, shin, tōmei, expressway, tōhoku, expressway, ur. See also Speed limits by country Statutory speed limit in Japan defaults to 100 km h 62 mph for divided national expressways and 60 km h 37 mph for any other roads unless otherwise posted 1 The highest speed limit in Japan is 120 km h 75 mph on some sections of Shin Tōmei Expressway E1A and Tōhoku Expressway E4 2 Urban two way streets are usually zoned at 40 km h 25 mph or less 3 A standard sign indicating a speed limit of 60 km h 37 mph and a minimum speed limit of 50 km h 31 mph Variable speed limit signs used on expressways Sign on the left denotes the limit for heavy trucks trailers and three wheelers Contents 1 Summary 2 Enforcement 2 1 Speed camera 2 2 Police enforcement 3 Speed limit guidelines 3 1 Surface streets 3 2 Expressways 4 ReferencesSummary EditStatutory maximum speed limits of 100 km h 62 mph applies on divided national expressways and 60 km h 37 mph on other roads There are no separate urban or rural statutory limits Urban and rural limits are set by zoning rather than statute Statutory speed limits for heavy trucks with GVWR over 8 t 17 640 lb trailers and three wheelers are restricted to 80 km h 50 mph on divided national expressways Implementation of speed limits in Japan can be summarized as regulatory speed limits of 30 km h 19 mph on residential streets and 40 km h 25 mph are common for urban two lane roads regulatory speed limit of 40 km h 25 mph or 50 km h 31 mph is common in rural areas due to rugged mountainous terrain regulatory speed limit cannot be set higher than 60 km h 37 mph for any streets with an at grade intersection or where pedestrians or cyclists are permitted undivided expressways have a limit of 70 km h 43 mph variable speed limits are in effect on most national expressways emergency vehicles are not exempt but have speed limit of 80 km h 50 mph on most roads and 100 km h 62 mph on divided national expressways unless higher speed limit is posted Police vehicles are exempt during speeding enforcement Enforcement Edit Speed camera installed on a rural street The minimum threshold for the speed camera is 29 km h 18 mph but the speed limit cannot be set higher than 60 km h 37 mph as the street is not a controlled access highway Radar unit used by police speed enforcement Speed camera Edit A threshold for speed cameras in Japan is set at a minimum of 39 km h 24 mph above the limit on an expressway and a minimum of 29 km h 18 mph above the limit on other streets where drivers will face criminal charges instead of traffic infractions This is due to legal precedents dating back to 1969 restricting police from filming an individual unless a criminal offence is immediately being committed 4 Police enforcement Edit Although there is no official tolerance for exceeding the speed limit most drivers in Japan tend to drive over the speed limit on major roads 5 6 Police enforcement varies depending on the jurisdiction officers traffic flow and street types but 19 km h 12 MPH above the speed limit on an expressway and 14 km h 9 MPH above the limit are generally tolerated on other streets 7 In 2020 a total of 1 162 420 speeding tickets were issued across Japan and only 199 tickets were issued for speeding between 0 14 km h 0 9 MPH over the limit 8 Of the 199 tickets for speeding 0 14 km h 0 9 MPH over the limit Iwate Prefectural Police alone issued 166 tickets 8 For speeding between 15 and 19 km h over the limit Hokkaido Aichi Kyoto Osaka and Fukuoka had the largest shares of tickets issued 8 In contrast Okinawa did not issue any tickets for speeding between 0 19 km h 0 12 MPH over the limit Tokyo Metropolitan Police issued a total of 68 693 speeding tickets but gave out only seven tickets for speeding between 0 19 km h 0 12 MPH over the limit 8 Some jurisdictions such as Tokyo Metropolitan Police release traffic enforcement locations on their websites 9 Speed limit guidelines EditIn Japan speed limit cannot be set higher than 60 km h 37 mph for any streets with at grade intersection or where pedestrians or cyclists are permitted In other words the street must be converted to controlled access highway with costly grade separation to achieve speed limits higher than 60 km h 37 mph There is also major distinguishment between surface streets 一般道路 ippan dōro and expressways 高速道路 kōsoku dōro when setting speed limits and different criteria are used Although some surface streets such as viaducts trunk and bypass roads are built to expressway standards many are not legally classified as expressways and are typically distinguishable by the colour of direction signs surface streets use blue direction signs while expressways use green signs Surface streets Edit Speed limits for surface streets are set within 10 km h 6 2 mph of the reference speed limit below Reference speed limits do not apply to expressways Reference Speed Limit for Surface Streets 10 11 Class Area Travel Lanes Divided Pedestrian Volumes 85th Percentile Speed 12 Reference Speed Limit Factors affecting the Reference Speed Limit Reason for deviating from 85th speed 1 Urban 2 lanes High 51 9 km h 40 km h Urban and high pedestrian volumes2 Low 57 1 km h 50 km h Urban3 4 lanes Yes High 59 0 km h 50 km h Urban and high pedestrian volumes4 Low 64 1 km h 60 km h Urban5 No High 58 7 km h 50 km h Urban high pedestrian volumes and undivided6 Low 63 9 km h 50 km h Urban and undivided7 Rural 2 lanes High 58 2 km h 50 km h High pedestrian volumes8 Low 63 3 km h 60 km h Maximum speed set by police9 4 lanes Yes High 65 3 km h 60 km h Pedestrian10 Low 70 4 km h 60 km h Maximum speed set by police11 No High 65 0 km h 50 km h High pedestrian volumes and undivided12 Low 70 1 km h 60 km h UndividedResidential Streets Narrow streets primarily used by local residents often without a sidewalk where the safety of pedestrians and cyclists should be warranted over travel speed of vehicles 30 km h in principle 20 km h limit may be set on case by case basis for the following Street has a higher percentage of vulnerable road users such as seniors School zones but only where specifically needed Strong requests from local residents Street not designed for motorized vehicles but still permitted due to unavoidable circumstances 13 14 Roads Structure Emphasizing the Traffic Function of Automobiles Surface roads excluding expressways and motorways that satisfy the following conditions Minimum design speed of 60 km h No at grade intersection Dividedand has low crash rates 70 km hor80 km h in principle For speed limits 70 km h and above the road should be closed to pedestrians cyclists and mopeds in principle Note This criterion only applies to surface streets and does not apply to expressways and motorways See Speed limits in Japan Expressways for expressway adaptation speeds Definitions Urban DID Densely Inhabited Districts defined as at least two adjacent census districts with a population density of 4 000 km2 and a combined population greater than 5 000 Rural non DID Divided Road must be separated by solid physical structures such as raised curb or fence Roads divided by raised pavement markers or delineator posts are classified as undivided High Pedestrian Volumes Urban 701 people 12 hr Rural 101 people 12 hr Low Pedestrian Volumes Urban 700 people 12 hr Rural 100 people 12 hrExpressways Edit Speed limits for expressways are set at 100 km h 62 mph or lower speed The speed limit is set with respect for the lowest structure compatible speed 構造適合速度 kōzō tekigō sokudo criteria below that is based on design speed 11 It doesn t mean that speed limit should be set in units of 20 km h 12 mph but 70 km h 43 mph speed limit is not so common except two lane expressways and there is no 90 km h 56 mph speed limit Intercity expressways typically have higher speed limits while urban expressways within major cities often have 60 km h 37 mph limits and two lane expressways typically in rural and remote areas have 70 km h 43 mph limits for undivided and 80 km h 50 mph limits with physical separation Most expressways outside of cities have active variable speed limit signs and maximum speeds are lowered according to road conditions such as congestions accidents constructions and severe weather When the statutory speed limits are in effect on national expressways variable speed limit signs are left blank to indicate the statutory speed of 80 km h 50 mph for heavy trucks and 100 km h 62 mph for other vehicles Two sets of variable speed limit signs are installed when the regulatory speed exceeds statutory speed of 100 km h 62 mph on national expressways or 80 km h 50 mph on other roads to regulate the maximum speed of trucks trailers and three wheelers to 80 km h 50 mph Speed limits can be set at maximum 120 km h 75 mph if it has low crash rates both structure compatible speed and design speed is 120 km h the length is 20 km 12 mi or more Curve Radius and Superelevation Curve Radius m Adaptation Speed Design standard ExceptionalSuperelevation Inclusive Exclusive0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 Curve radius m 1134 1031 945 872 810 756 709 120 km h 710 570 716 656 606 562 525 492 463 100 km h 460 380 420 388 360 336 315 296 280 80 km h 280 230 218 202 189 177 167 157 149 60 km h 150 120 141 131 123 116 109 104 98 50 km h 100 80 84 79 74 70 66 63 60 40 km h 60 50 47 44 42 39 37 35 34 30 km h 30 21 20 19 17 17 16 15 20 km h 15 Sight Distance Sight distance Adaptation Speed210 m 120 km h160 m 210 m 100 km h110 m 160 m 80 km h75 m 110 m 60 km h55 m 75 m 50 km h40 m 55 m 40 km h30 m 40 m 30 km h lt 30 m 20 km hCombined Superelevation Slope Gradient Combined Gradient Adaptation SpeedBelow 10 120 km h10 but below 10 5 80 km hAbove 10 5 but below 11 5 50 km hRoad Slope Slope Adaptation Speed5 and below 120 km hAbove 5 but less than 6 100 km hAbove 6 but less than 7 80 km hAbove 7 but less than 8 60 km hAbove 8 but less than 9 50 km hAbove 9 but less than 10 40 km hlane width 3 5 m 120 km h lt 3 5 m 80 km h shoulder width 1 75 m 120 km h lt 1 75 m 80 km h References Edit The Order for Enforcement of the Road Traffic Act Japanese Government of Japan Government of Japan Retrieved 22 February 2017 新東名高速道路における最高速度120キロの試行開始について in Japanese 2 February 2019 Retrieved 1 March 2019 Driving in Japan Japan Guide com Japan Guide com Retrieved 22 February 2017 刑集第23巻12号1625頁 自動車の走行速度を規定する要因に関する調査研究 PDF International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences March 1991 自動車の走行速度と道路の設計速度 最高速度規制との関係 PDF 速度規制の目的と現状 P 12 National Police Agency of Japan a b c d Imai Ryoichi August 23 2021 東京と沖縄は20キロ未満を相手にしない 都道府県別に見るスピード違反取り締まりの実態 ドライバーWeb 警視庁 公開交通取締り Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department National Police Agency 規制速度決定の在り方に関する調査研究検討委員会 March 2009 平成20年度 規制速度決定の在り方に関する調査研究 報告書 PDF Report pp 1 10 12 13 15 18 27 36 39 41 51 a b 警察庁交通局 2017 04 24 交通規制基準 PDF pp 120 128 National Police Agency 規制速度決定の在り方に関する調査研究検討委員会 March 2009 平成20年度 規制速度決定の在り方に関する調査研究 報告書 PDF Report p 8 表 2 4 数量化I類による計算結果 85 パーセンタイル速度 警察庁交通局 交通規制課 2014 04 02 最高速度規制の点検 見直し等の更なる推進について 通達 PDF p 3 生活道路におけるゾーン対策推進調査研究検討委員会 March 2011 生活道路におけるゾーン対策推進調査研究報告書 PDF Report p 23 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Speed limits in Japan amp oldid 1138761266, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
