Speed King

Last week (Friday 22nd Sept) I had to attend a 2 hour road safety lecture before I could renew my Japanese driving license which I have held for the last 3 years. Although I did not understand much of the lecture, the messages seemed similar to those in Britain. Wear a seatbelt, don't drink and drive, don't drive whilst talking on the phone, watch your speed............no problem to an excellent driver like myself.

Tuesday started as an ordinary day. Got up. Had breakfast. Showered. Drove to school. Just after crossing a bridge in the next town called Tajima, I was signalled to pull over by two policemen wearing high vis clothing and holding luminous yellow batons. Oh dear......looks like I've just been caught speeding. Damm! I wasn't very happy to be caught but I guess it was only matter of time.

The speed limit for that section of road was 50km/h - they clocked me doing 75km/h and I consider that speed to be rather fortunate. Japanese speed limits are ridiculously low and everyone breaks them by at least 10km/h. It's an unwritten rule that everyone can drive 10km/h over the speed limit without chance of being stopped by the police. I was unlucky. I was driving a new route so I did not have the local knowledge that would have saved me. I was also at a disadvantage in not knowing that the police were cracking down on speeders this week.

I parked up my car, gave them my license, and was then told to sit in a police van (with 5 other speed kings) to answer some questions and complete the paperwork. The policeman was very apologetic when he handed me the ¥18,000 fine (90 quid). Ouch!!

I don't feel any malice towards the policemen who stopped me. They were really friendly and polite and I realise they were only doing their jobs. Hopefully I won't have to speak to them again.