Tougher Laws for Phone Usage While Driving

Tougher laws will be applied to persons who use a mobile phone while driving in Sendai and all of Japan. These new laws took effect on Sunday, December 1, 2019.

The laws were put in place due to the fact that the accident rate has increased in recent years. Japantimes.com note that over 2,000 accidents were linked to phone usage last year, of which 42 were fatal.

The new penalties for a violation are as follows:

• Large vehicle drivers will be charged 25,000 yen
• Drivers of  regular size vehicles will be charged 18,000 yen
• Bikers will be fined 15,000 yen.
• Scooter riders will be charged 12,000 yen 

If you are caught several times violating the law you may face prison sentences of up to six months or fines of up to 100,000 yen.

If you cause an accident or were in an accident and you were using your phone criminal charges will be applied and points deducted from your licenses (6 points to be exact). An offender may also face up to six years in prison or a fined of up to 100,000 yen for this offense.

if you need to fix your phone to check your google maps at a stoplight, have no fear, you may. However, you should not do so for a long time as you may just be sitting there looking at a screen holding up traffic.

For more information click here.