## Section 3: Ensuring Safe Driving

In order to ensure the safe driving of motorcars and other vehicles, the police are working to enhance education for persons seeking to acquire a driver’s license as well as education after a driver’s license has been awarded, and are also striving to implement strict and prompt administrative punishments against drivers who repeatedly violate the “Road Traffic Act” or cause serious accidents, in order to remove them from the road traffic environment as soon as possible.

## Column: Partial amendment of the “Road Traffic Act”

Police held a review committee of experts from June through October 2012 following an accident causing multiple fatalities and injuries that occurred in Kanuma City, Tochigi Prefecture in April 2011, which was caused by a driver who had made false declarations concerning an illness that triggers seizures accompanied with impairment of consciousness when applying to renew a driving license. In view of the recommendations compiled by this review committee, the "Act on the Partial Amendment of the Road Traffic Act" was enacted in June 2013, in the 183 $ ^{rd} $ Session of the National Diet. This Act includes provisions for a provisional suspension system for driver's licenses when there is reason to suspect that an individual has an illness or other condition that presents specific symptoms, and partial exemptions from tests when an individual who has had a license revoked due to an illness that presents specific symptoms attempts to re-acquire a driver's license.

The same act also includes provisions such as measures to prevent bicycle accidents, regulations for how traffic should negotiate circular intersections and strengthened penalties for driving without a license.

## Section 4: Traffic Environment Improvement 1 Developing Safe and Secure Traffic Environments

To achieve safety and smooth traffic flow, police are working to improve traffic safety facilities such as traffic lights and roads signs. In addition, police are striving to achieve well-ordered traffic flow through traffic control systems, which control traffic lights and provide traffic information.

## 2 Utilizing IT for Road Traffic

In order to optimize traffic management using the latest information and communications technologies, police are promoting the development and improvement of new traffic management systems including the Public Transportation Priority System (PTPS), which controls traffic lights to give priority to buses and other mass public transportation systems by exploiting the functions of infrared beacons.

Public Transportation Priority System

## 3 Parking Measures

As well as exacerbating traffic congestion and obstructing safe passage, illegal parking harms the living environment of local residents and has a significant impact on life in general.

In order to ensure good parking order, police are continuously reviewing current parking regulations. In addition, police are applying well organized enforcement to illegal parking guidelines that have been formulated and announced with the views of local residents taken into consideration.

## Section 5: Maintaining Road Traffic Order

Police are striving to crack down on traffic violations with an emphasis on highly malicious and dangerous violations that lead directly to traffic accidents such as driving without a license, drinking and driving, excessive speeding and ignoring traffic lights, and violations that are causing repeated demands for enforcement from local residents. During 2012, police dealt with 7,804,828 violations of the Road Traffic Act.