Bicyclists and Pedestrians

Japanese people are typically quite trusting of vehicles and their drivers. The roads are narrow enough as it stands, but Japanese pedestrians and bikers often take a very prominent position on the side of the road. Sidewalks are quite uncommon here, but it is very common to see 2 or 3 students biking SIDE-BY-SIDE on a very narrow street. Car drivers don't beep their horns though; they simply slow down and wait for the bikers to realign themselves. As a western driver, I am always amazed at the audacity of these bikers to take away any amount of my road when I'm driving! But this is the main difference between the West and Japan (when it comes to roads): most people don't think that cars own the roads here. This can be very dangerous.

There are many even tinier sidestreets that intersect the already narrow streets that I drive on here. And from these tiny sidestreets pop out many young a biker. And they just "pop" right into the street. They don't seem to stop at stop signs, nor do they seem to value their precious human lives. Because young bikers are constantly flinging themselves in front of my car!

I have told a number of my young students to be more careful when driving their bicycles, but I'm not sure my warnings will do anything. Plus as more foreigners come to Japan to teach, who feel that they "own the road" (like I do), things will get more and more dangerous for the Japanese junior high school student.

I'd like to establish a "Save the Students" fund to prevent the extinction of young bikers in Japan. The money collected can go towards educating Japanese students and foreigners alike on this important issue.