00:00Hey guys, another video for a wheels in Japan playlist. So some of you might have seen a video I
00:04made recently talking about the new stricter laws and stricter penalties in relation to cycling in Japan. So we haven't
00:11seen much change in behavior. See the same behavior we've always seen. So the guy in the white there is
00:17obviously supposed to be keeping to the left. One of the new laws is that motorists have to stay at
00:23least a meter from cyclists. So when we overtake cyclists we have to be at least a meter from them.
00:29This is a really busy, really fast road. We've slowed the video right down and he's making it very difficult
00:35for people to get past him because he's hanging out in the lane, isn't he? So yeah, a bit naughty
00:41behavior, but yeah, the laws don't really matter if you don't have to worry about getting a penalty because your
00:47chances of getting caught are so low, you know? So same as the using the phones. They're not supposed to
00:52use a phone while cycling. They're not supposed to hold anything in their hand while cycling.
00:57So, but we're seeing it. I mean, these obviously the, the, the younger version of the motorists that we see
01:06staring at their phones while they're driving. So the cyclists are doing the same thing.
01:11So it obviously hasn't stopped them doing it. So same as the, the motorists doing all this same stuff in
01:18their cars is the chances of getting caught is so remote that they're just not worried about it.
01:24So that's one part. The other aspect is that in Japanese society, if people, if everybody's doing something, then it's
01:31okay to do it.
01:32That's the sort of the Japanese thinking. So if they see everybody else riding around on their bikes, looking at
01:37their phones and everybody else driving around in their cars, looking at their phones, then it must be okay.
01:42So if everybody's doing it, it must be okay. So everybody does it. So the new laws and the new
01:48penalties aren't going to change that, of course.
01:51So as we've showed you before, there are some police out policing this and riding tickets.
01:58But it's so rare that the chances of these guys getting a penalty for it is so low.
02:05They just don't care, you know, they're not worried about it.
02:09So anyway, that's what they're doing. That's what's happening in Japan today.
02:14More videos coming soon.
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