TOKYO, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) — Tokyo police have launched stricter punishments for 4 bicycle infractions amid considerations over growing visitors violations by the rising bicycle owner inhabitants within the metropolis, JT has stated.
Under the stricter rules adopted by the Metropolitan Police Department in late October, riders usually tend to be issued visitors tickets as an alternative of warnings if caught ignoring visitors lights, the Japanese newspaper reported Friday.
Such riders may even be fined when failing to make non permanent stops at specified factors, driving in opposition to visitors or biking quick on sidewalks.
Bicycle accidents have elevated in frequency within the metropolis lately, accounting for 46.6 p.c of incidents as of the top of September this 12 months, police knowledge confirmed.
Yearly totals confirmed their involvement in all accidents had risen from a 32.1 p.c share in 2016 to 43.6 p.c in 2021, in line with police knowledge.
Statistics confirmed that Japanese police reported 21,906 instances of unlawful biking and 359 bicycle accident deaths nationwide in 2021, with over 75 p.c of the instances involving fatalities and breaching guidelines together with ignoring visitors lights.
JT attributed the rise to a basic rise in bicycle utilization, fueled partly by the ballooning meals supply trade and life-style adjustments prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A ballot carried out by the Japan Bicycle Promotion Institute discovered that 71.8 p.c of pedestrians and 88.1 p.c of drivers within the nation reported feeling aggravated or in peril as a result of cyclists.
New risks have emerged as many Japanese residents, particularly younger households, are selecting power-assisted bikes over standard ones. The annual gross sales of power-assisted bikes had surged from round 250,000 items in 2007 to 790,000 by 2021.
In Osaka Prefecture alone, some 48 preschool-aged youngsters within the first half of 2022 had been caught up in bike accidents, with 28 of them passengers on power-assisted bikes, stated the newspaper, citing experiences from native police.