{"id":3,"date":"2005-04-01T20:13:00","date_gmt":"2005-04-01T11:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2005-04-01\/3"},"modified":"2006-04-17T09:20:21","modified_gmt":"2006-04-17T00:20:21","slug":"3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2005-04-01\/3","title":{"rendered":"The Fun of a Japanese Driver&#8217;s License Test"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<div class=\"img_center\"><a\nhref=\"\/i\/pic\/2004-06-27_18:47.27__00062.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/car.jpg\" width=\"390\" height=\"227\"\nid=\"icar\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n\n<p>Unlike America where a driver's license is easier to get than <span class='nobr'>a dog<\/span>\nlicense, Japan makes you go through <span class='nobr'>a lot<\/span> of very time consuming, expensive\npain (roughly five thousand dollars worth) before you can get <span class='nobr'>a\nlicense.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p>Wonderfully, though, it used to be that if you had an international\ndriver's permit, you could pretty much drive indefinitely on that (with\nminimal cost each year to renew it in your home country). And, if you had\nthe foreign license and met <span class='nobr'>a few<\/span> simple criteria, you could just pay <span class='nobr'>a few<\/span>\nbucks and get <span class='nobr'>a Japanese<\/span> license issued from it. This was super nice for\nthe visiting foreigner (or the Japanese who had been abroad for &#8220;long\nenough&#8221; &mdash; six months &mdash; to qualify).<\/p><!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>\nHowever, as of recently, you can drive on an international permit for at\nmost one year; any longer and you need <span class='nobr'>a Japanese<\/span> driver's licence. And,\nnow instead of just giving you <span class='nobr'>a Japanese<\/span> license, you must take a\n(somewhat reduced) written and driving test before they let you convert an\nAmerican license. (The licenses of some countries, such as Canada and\nGermany, do not require the test, because those governments have submitted\nthe proper applications to the Japanese government.)<\/p>\n\n<p>The written test is kindly offered in English, is only 10 questions, and\ncontains such brain teasers as &#8220;True or false: it's important to know\ntraffic rules in order to drive safely?&#8221;. <span class='nobr'>I think<\/span> <span class='nobr'>I might<\/span> be able to squeak\nby on this one.<\/p>\n\n<p>The driving test, on the other hand, is notoriously difficult, with <span class='nobr'>a\nfirst<\/span>-attempt passing rate of just 30%. <span class='nobr'>The thing<\/span> is that it does not test\nwhether you can drive safely, but whether you can pass the test. There is\none way to do things (which is not necessarily intuitive nor safe, in some\ncases), and only if you can do every move exactly perfectly, and don't make\n<span class='nobr'>a heinous<\/span> mistake (such as chewing gum while taking the test), you can\npass. Otherwise, you fail.<\/p>\n\n<p>So, there are places that let you practice the test, teaching what to do\nin order to pass the test. With the 70% first-time failure rate in the\nforefront of my mind, last week <span class='nobr'>I plunked<\/span> down $50 for an hour-long\npractice session at the Kyoto Prefecture southern driver's licence testing\ncenter near Nagaokakyou City.<\/p>\n\n<p>With the instructor's kind permission, I'd tape-recorded the entire\nthing, and so what follows is are some of the advice he provided along the\nway:<\/p>\n\n<p>(Note: Japan drives on the left side of the road, like\nEngland\/Australia, and unlike mainland Europe and North America)<\/p>\n<ul><li>\n\n<p>Before getting into the car, conspicuously check in front of it and\nbehind it, and all around it, looking to ensure that it is clear of\nobstructions.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>Before actually opening the car door to get in, make <span class='nobr'>a show<\/span> of looking\nboth ways (toward the direction where the car is facing, and the opposite\nway as well) to ensure that it's not dangerous to open the door (that <span class='nobr'>a\nscooter<\/span> isn't about to fly right past the spot on which you're standing,\nfor example).<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>After getting into the car, do these steps in this specific\norder:<\/p><ol><li>close door<\/li><li>lock the door<\/li><li>adjust the\nseat<\/li><li>check\/adjust the mirrors\n\n<p>(now ready to start)<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>hold down brake pedal and...<\/li><li>release the parking\nbrake, and<\/li><li>start the engine\n\n<p>(when told to start moving...)<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li> make <span class='nobr'>a show<\/span> of looking forward and backward to ensure it's\nsafe to move the car. Conspicuously check mirrors.<\/li><li> release the\nbreak pedal<\/li><li>pull out<\/li><\/ol>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>When turning right, the left side of the car should pass just inside (to\nthe right) of the center of the intersection. <span class='nobr'>The center<\/span> of most\nintersections at the test center are marked with <span class='nobr'>a large<\/span> orange painted dot\nthe size of <span class='nobr'>a beach<\/span> ball &mdash; you'll want to just graze it on the smooth arc\nof path from the rightmost lane of the road you're turning from to the\nleftmost lane of the road you're turning onto.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>When turning, don't accelerate. Accelerate after the turn is\ncomplete.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>When turning left, be sure to not briefly counter-steer out toward the\nright just before the sharp turn to the left. <span class='nobr'>I had this<\/span> tendency (to\nprovide <span class='nobr'>a better<\/span> approach angle), but he said that <span class='nobr'>a turn<\/span> should begin from\n<span class='nobr'>a straight<\/span>-on position.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>When turning (especially left), go slow. Very, very (walking-speed)\nslow. <span class='nobr'>I kept going<\/span> way to fast, even though <span class='nobr'>I went<\/span> much slower than <span class='nobr'>I\nthought<\/span> was reasonable.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>When approaching an intersection at which you intend to turn left, drift\nover to the left side of the lane to pinch off the side of the road such\nthat it's less inviting for <span class='nobr'>a scooter<\/span>\/motorcycle to try to zip past you\nbetween you and the curb. (This helps avoid them speeding along the side of\nthe road and impaling themselves into your car door as you suddenly\nturn.)<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>Note that there are very few places on the test track where you must\nstop. There is one railroad crossing (which is really just some lines\npainted on the ground &mdash; be sure to remember that they're supposed to\nrepresent <span class='nobr'>a railroad<\/span> crossing!), and one stop sign. You don't stop at any\nother place unless other traffic dictates (e.g. when you're on <span class='nobr'>a smaller<\/span>\nroad and wish to enter <span class='nobr'>a larger<\/span> road that currently has traffic).<\/p>\n\n<p>I had to fight the test-taking try-to-exaggerate-safety urge to stop\nmore often. <span class='nobr'>At the test<\/span> track where <span class='nobr'>I did<\/span> the practice, there was in\nintersection with traffic signals, but the lights were not in use. <span class='nobr'>I don't<\/span>\nknow if this is because they were broken, or because they are not used for\nthe test. <span class='nobr'>In any case<\/span>, unlike America, an unworking traffic light is\napparently taken as <span class='nobr'>a no<\/span>-stop situation (while in America, an unworking\ntraffic light is taken as an all-way stop).<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>When you do stop somewhere, stop just before the line (but exaggerate <span class='nobr'>a\nbit,<\/span> so that it's clear you're clearly not on\/over the line).<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>Before changing lanes:<\/p><ol><li> Turn on turn signal<\/li><li>Look\nbehind over your shoulder, on the side you'll be turning (to see whether where\nyou intend to go is empty\/safe)<\/li><li>Start and complete the lane\nchange.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n<p>You want about 3 seconds to elapse from #1 to #3. <span class='nobr'>Be sure to<\/span> pause\nslightly between each step (<span class='nobr'>I have<\/span> the habit of doing the first two at the\nsame time). <span class='nobr'>Be sure the<\/span> lane change is smooth.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>When preparing to turn, turn on turn signal 30m (visualize 3 full-size\ntour bus lengths) before you turn, even if there are other intersections,\nturnoffs, or 90-degree bends in the road during that 30m. (<span class='nobr'>I think<\/span> it is\nquite dangerous, as it means that you are <em>required<\/em> to go straight\nthrough some intersections with your blinker running.)<\/p>\n\n<p>Follow the steps above... <strong>1)<\/strong> at 30m before the intended\nturn, turn on the turn signal, then <strong>2)<\/strong> look back over your\nshoulder to check for safety, then <strong>3)<\/strong> continue forward\nuntil the turn point and turn.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>If you're on a road which has two lanes in the direction you're\ntraveling, you'll want to generally run in the left lane (since that's the\n&#8220;slow lane&#8221;). <span class='nobr'>If you intend<\/span> to turn right at an intersection, you'll need\nto move to the right lane before doing the turn. You'll want to pick <span class='nobr'>a\npoint<\/span> to start the lane change such that when you're done, you'll be about\n30m from the intersection. Thus, you'll have your turn signal on for three\nseconds (for the lane change), and by the time you're done you'll need it\non because you're about 30m from the intersection, so the turn signal stays\non the whole time. (<span class='nobr'>I wanted<\/span> to turn it off for <span class='nobr'>a moment<\/span> in between, to\ndifferentiate my actions from someone forgetting to have turned the turn\nsignal off).<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>When preparing to stop, don't just slowly get onto the brakes until you\nstop, but rather do it in <span class='nobr'>a few<\/span> steps (e.g. letting off them for <span class='nobr'>a bit<\/span>\nhalfway through <span class='nobr'>a slow<\/span> slowdown). <span class='nobr'>The reason<\/span> for this is to cause your\nbrake lights to flash <span class='nobr'>a time<\/span> or two, thus being more attention-getting to\nthose behind you. (In the test car, on the dash in front of the instructor,\nare lights which indicate your use of the break, accelerator, turn signals,\netc., so during the test, no action or inaction will escape notice.)<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>When making a turn which requires quite <span class='nobr'>a bit<\/span> of steering-wheel\nmovement, be sure to turn it with <span class='nobr'>a hand<\/span>-over-hand motion, not <span class='nobr'>a\nshuffle<\/span>-shuffle type of turning. (Tip from someone at JAF, the Japanese\nversion of AAA).<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>When coming to a stop, complete the stop and <em>then<\/em> make <span class='nobr'>a show<\/span>\nof looking both ways to ensure it's safe to move forward. <span class='nobr'>Be sure you<\/span>'re\nwell and truly stopped (say, for two or three seconds at least while you're\nlooking around). Only then can you start to move forward.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>When stopping at the pretend railroad crossing, put down your window <span class='nobr'>a\nbit<\/span> to listen for sound from the (nonexistent) crossing signal.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>When approaching an intersection where you don't have the right of way,\nif there's any other traffic even <em>remotely<\/em> close, stop and wait\nfor them. <span class='nobr'>Be sure to<\/span> wait back at the line where you're supposed to wait,\nand not up sort of closer to the intersection where everyone actually does\nwait in real life (or, where they would, were they to actually ever wait\nfor someone else.)<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>Some of the small roads are so narrow that <span class='nobr'>I instinctively<\/span> placed the\ncar in the center of the lane-width road, but (unless it's <span class='nobr'>a one<\/span>-way\nstreet) if there's no centerline you at least want to be toward the left\nside of the road. So, be sure to note if there are any one-ways on the\ncourse you'll take, and if not, don't mistakenly drive in the center of the\nsmall roads.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p>After parking at the end of the test:<\/p><ol><li>engage parking\nbreak<\/li>\n\n<li>put car in park<\/li>\n<li>engine off<\/li>\n<li>seat-belt off\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><\/ol><\/li>\n<\/ul> <hr \/> Some other random comments:\n\n<p><\/p> <ul><li>The test for gaimenkirikae (the converting of <span class='nobr'>a foreign<\/span>\nlicense) is pretty short and simple, with <span class='nobr'>a few<\/span> intersections and turns\n(including one cramped &#8220;S&#8221; curve encased in tall traffic cones just waiting\nto be bumped), but no backing up or parking.\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li> You really need to memorize the route (you'll be given <span class='nobr'>a\nmap<\/span> when you file your paperwork and take the written test). <span class='nobr'>The tester<\/span> may\nwell tell you &#8220;turn left at #14&#8221; (in Japanese, of course), but by the time\nhe says it, it may well be too late. So, memorize the course.\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>You can walk the actual course during lunchtime, when it is\notherwise closed.\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>There may be other traffic on the course while you take the\ntest.<\/li> <\/ul>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<p>The site <a\nhref=\"http:\/\/www.japandriverslicense.com\/\">www.japandriverslicense.com<\/a>\nhas <span class='nobr'>a lot<\/span> of information in English about Japanese driver's licenses, and\ndriving. <span class='nobr'>It's very helpful<\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unlike America where a driver's license is easier to get than a dog license, Japan makes you go through a lot of very time consuming, expensive pain (roughly five thousand dollars worth) before you can get a license.<\/p> <p>Wonderfully, though, it used to be that if you had an international driver's permit, you could pretty much drive indefinitely on that (with minimal cost each year to renew it in your home country). And, if you had the foreign license and met a few simple criteria, you could just pay a few bucks and get a Japanese license issued from it. 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