Stage 2 Course Content 11 — Parking and Stopping

1. Definitions of Parking and Stopping

1. Definition of Parking

Parking means stopping a vehicle in the following conditions.

The vehicle is stopped continuously:

The vehicle is stopped and the driver being away from the vehicle and not able to drive it immediately.

2. Definition of Stopping

Stopping means stopping a vehicle for a short period of time, not to be considered parking.

2. Prohibition against Parking and Stopping and Its Exceptions

1. Necessity of Prohibiting Illegal Parking and Stopping

Parking or stopping vehicles illegally is prohibited because it could disturb traffic in the vicinity and restrict the visibility of the road, leading to accidents due to dart-out into traffic. Also, it could obstruct the passage of emergency vehicles, such as police cars and fire trucks. When you park or stop your vehicle, be sure to confirm that parking or stopping a vehicle is allowed in the place.

2. Where Parking and Stopping Are Prohibited

In the following places, a driver must not park or stop a vehicle. However, this does not apply if you have to come to a stop in order to wait at a red signal or to prevent hazard.

  1. Where there is a "no parking or stopping" sign or marking
  2. On a streetcar track
  3. Near the top of a slope and on a steep slope (Both upward slope and downward slope)
  4. In a tunnel (Regardless of whether there are vehicular lanes)
  5. At an intersection and within 5 m of its edge
  6. Within 5 m of a road corner
  7. At a pedestrian crossing or a bicycle crossing zone as well as within 5 m before and after its edge
  8. At a railroad crossing and within 10 m before and after its edge
  9. The left side of and within 10 m before and after a safety zone
  10. Within 10 m of the signboard (sign poles) in bus stops or streetcar stops (Limited to operating hours)

Reference — Summary of no parking or stopping areas

Range not specified Prohibited within 5 m Prohibited within 10 m
Areas prohibited by traffic signs or pavement markings At intersections and from their edges At railroad crossings and before and after their edges
Near tops of slopes or on steep slopes Road corners The left side of safety zones and before and after them
On streetcar tracks At pedestrian crossings and bicycle crossing zones as well as before and after their edges Bus or streetcar stops
In tunnels

※ You can assume that the length of a regular passenger vehicle is approximately 5 m to understand the range on actual roads.

※ Note that this is not equal to the No overtaking area. (Refer to p. 97)

3. Where Parking Is Prohibited

In the following places, a driver must not park a vehicle. However, this does not apply if the permission has been granted by a police chief.

  1. Places where parking is prohibited by a "no parking" sign or marking
  2. Within 1 m of fire alarms
  3. Within 3 m of an automobile entrance or exit of parking lots, garages, etc.
  4. Within 5 m of the edges of roadwork zones
  5. Within 5 m of places where firefighting machinery or equipment is stored, water tanks for firefighting, or entrances or exits connecting either of these to the road
  6. Within 5 m of hydrants, the locations of traffic signs indicating designated firefighting water supply and the inlet of water tanks for firefighting

Reference — Vehicles that are allowed to park with permission from a police chief

  1. Vehicles requiring urgent repair
  2. Vehicles that cannot load or unload within 5 minutes
  3. Vehicles for ceremonial use
  4. Vehicles that the police chief approves due to other compelling reasons

4. Prohibition against Parking with No Space Left and Its Exceptions

A driver must not park if doing so would fail to leave 3.5 m or more of road to the right side of the vehicle. Or, if the distance is specified by a traffic sign, a driver must not park unless the specified distance is ensured.

However, the following cases are exceptions and parking is permitted:

  1. When the cargo is being loaded or unloaded and the driver can drive immediately
  2. When it is necessary to park to rescue an injured or sick person

5. Parking or Stopping Permitted by Traffic Signs

Even in places where parking or stopping is prohibited or where parking is prohibited, you can park or stop your vehicle provided that it is specifically allowed by a traffic sign.

3. Parking and Stopping

When you park or stop your vehicle, you must do it in one of the following ways.

  1. On roads without a sidewalk or side strip, park or stop along the left edge of the road.
  2. On general roads with a sidewalk, park or stop along the left edge of the roadway. (The same applies when there is a roadway edge line.)
  3. General roads with a side strip:
    • When the width of a side strip is 0.75 m or less — Park or stop along the left edge of the roadway.
    • When a side strip is wide enough — Park or stop in the side strip, ensuring a space of 0.75 m or more to its left side. (When entering a side strip, a vehicle must come to a stop just before it to prevent obstructing the passage of pedestrians.)
    • Even if the side strip is wide enough, a vehicle must not enter it when it is delineated by two solid lines or by solid and broken lines — park or stop along the left edge of the roadway.
  4. When it is unavoidable to park or stop on an expressway due to a breakdown, etc., enter the side strip, and park or stop along the left edge of the road. (Passage of pedestrians is prohibited)
  5. You must not park or stop a vehicle alongside a vehicle parked or stopped in parallel with the road. (No double parking or stopping)
  6. When the method of parking or stopping is designated by a traffic sign or a pavement marking, follow its instructions.

4. Restrictions on Parking Duration, etc.

1. Prohibition against Parking for a Long Time

  1. Do not use a road as your personal garage.
  2. When parking your vehicle on a road, you must not leave it parked in the same place for continuous 12 hours or more (or 8 hours or more during the night). (Excludes roads in certain areas of designated villages.)

※ Night refers to the period from sunset to sunrise.

2. Parking Methods, etc. in Time-Limited Parking Zones

In urban areas, parking is prohibited on most of the roads. However, if there is a place with parking meter or parking ticket dispenser (time-limited parking zones), you can park your vehicle provided that you observe the restrictions. You must observe the following rules in the time-limited parking zone with a parking meter, etc.

  1. When there is a parking meter, put the parking fee in the parking meter to activate immediately.
  2. When there is a parking ticket dispenser, put the parking fee in the dispenser and receive a parking ticket immediately, and then display it in a visible place at the front of the vehicle (inside the windshield, if the vehicle is equipped with it) so that it is easily seen from the front.
  3. You must not park exceeding the duration indicated on a traffic sign. The parking duration should be counted from the time when the parking meter detects your vehicle, or you receive a parking ticket.

※ Park properly in the parking line. Otherwise, it is illegal parking. Also, it is illegal to keep parking a vehicle in the same spot beyond the parking end time specified by the parking ticket, even if you get a ticket issued again and display it. Updating of parking duration by buying the ticket again is not allowed.

3. Special Exceptions for Vehicles with a Senior Driver, etc. Sticker

  1. Even in places where parking or stopping is prohibited or where parking is prohibited, a regular automobile with a registration number (vehicle number) on the parking in exclusive sites sticker may park or stop, provided that it is a place where only vehicles with a sticker are permitted to park or stop by traffic signs (sites exclusively for senior drivers, etc.), or that it is a time-limited parking zones where only vehicles with a parking in exclusive sites sticker are permitted to park (time-limited parking zones exclusively for senior drivers, etc.).
  2. When parking or stopping a vehicle in a site exclusively for senior drivers, etc., or a time-limited parking zone exclusively for senior drivers, etc., the vehicle must display a parking in exclusive sites sticker in a visible place at the front of the regular automobile (inside the windshield, if the vehicle is equipped with it).
  3. Drivers who have not been given a parking in exclusive sites sticker by the Public Safety Commission must not park or stop in sites exclusively for senior drivers, etc., or time-limited parking zones exclusively for senior drivers, etc.

Reference — Parking in exclusive sites sticker (Senior driver, etc. sticker)

This is a sticker that may be given to a driver who has a license that permits driving of regular automobiles and meets any of the following conditions, based on the application to the Public Safety Commission. Lending or giving this sticker to others is not allowed.

  1. Senior drivers 70 years of age or older
  2. Drivers who have a license to which any condition is attached because the licensee has a hearing impairment to a degree that Cabinet Order prescribes
  3. Drivers who have a license to which any condition is attached because the licensee has a physical disability
  4. Drivers who are pregnant or have given birth within preceding 8 weeks

4. Measures against Illegal Parking

1. Moving a vehicle

  1. A driver or another person responsible for the oversight of an illegally parked vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a "driver, etc.") must remove the vehicle when he/she is given an on-site instruction to move the vehicle from a police officer or traffic warden (hereinafter referred to as a "police officer, etc.").
  2. When a police officer, etc. cannot order to move an illegally parked vehicle because the driver, etc. is not present at the site, the vehicle may be removed by a wrecker.
  3. The expenses including moving and storing the vehicle should be borne by the driver, etc.

Reference — "User"

Refers to a person who holds the title to a vehicle, controls the operation of the vehicle, and manages the vehicle is referred to as a user. Usually, the owner of a vehicle is the user of the vehicle. (In the case of leased vehicles, etc., the user may not be the same as the owner.)

2. When a determination of illegally parked and left vehicle sticker has been attached

  1. A determination of illegally parked and left vehicle sticker may be attached to illegally parked vehicles.
  2. A driver of a vehicle to which a determination of illegally parked and left vehicle sticker is attached should take the procedures of an abandoned parking violation.
  3. In cases such as the driver of the vehicle fails to pay the penalty, the user of the vehicle may be ordered to pay the abandonment penalty.
  4. The user, driver, or person responsible for the oversight of the vehicle may remove the attached determination of illegally parked and left vehicle sticker. To prevent a traffic accident, the determination of illegally parked and left vehicle sticker should be removed before the vehicle is driven. People other than above must not damage, deface, or remove these stickers.

Reference — Abandoned parking violation

A vehicle that has been parked in a place where parking is prohibited or parked against a specified parking method, etc., and cannot be driven immediately because the driver has left the vicinity is found to be an "abandoned parking violation". The penalty to an abandoned parking violation is severer than a parking violation with a driver in the vicinity.

Abandonment penalty system

A driver of a vehicle found to be an abandoned parking violation and to which a determination of illegally parked and left vehicle sticker is attached must pay the penalty within 30 days. When the driver fails to pay the penalty or the driver cannot be identified within that period, the Public Safety Commission may order the user of the vehicle to pay the abandonment penalty. A vehicle to which payment orders are given a certain number of times or more in 6 months is ordered to be subject to usage limitation for a period not exceeding 3 months, and a driving prohibited sticker is attached to the vehicle. If a person fails to pay the abandonment penalty within the specified period and receives a demand for payment, he/she cannot receive an automobile inspection certificate (vehicle inspection) until he/she presents a document evidencing that the abandonment penalty, overdue fines, and service fees have been paid.

5. Measures to Take When Leaving Your Vehicle

1. Measures to Prevent Danger

When you leave the vicinity of your vehicle, you must take the following steps to prevent the vehicle from rolling away (or overturning in the case of a two-wheeled vehicle).

For four-wheeled vehicles:

  1. Apply the parking brake and stop the engine.
  2. The gear should be in reverse on a flat land or a downward slope, and in low on an upward slope. As for automatic transmission vehicles, put the gearshift in P irrespective of the place.
  3. Attach wheel chocks on a slope.

For two-wheeled vehicles:

  1. Choose a place where the ground is hard and flat.
  2. Lower the center stand.
  3. When using a side stand, shift the gear to low, and turn the handlebars fully to the left.
  4. Stop the engine and pull out the engine key.

Attention — Do not leave children alone inside a vehicle

Leaving children alone inside a vehicle is very dangerous, because the vehicle may start by mischief, or a child's neck or hand may be caught in a power window. Especially, because the temperature becomes high in vehicles under the burning sun of high summer, tragic accidents have occurred in which children died of dehydration. Do not go away from the vehicle leaving children alone inside it, even for a short time.

2. Measures to Prevent Theft

There are many cases where a stolen vehicle is used for criminal activities. To prevent such crimes as well as to prevent your vehicle from being stolen, you must take the following steps when you leave the vicinity of your vehicle.

For four-wheeled vehicles:

  1. Stop the engine and carry the engine key with you.
  2. Make sure the windows are closed, and lock the doors.
  3. If the vehicle is equipped with an anti-theft device, such as a steering wheel locking device, activate it.
  4. If you do not take away your valuables, put them into the trunk and lock it.

For two-wheeled vehicles:

  1. Lock the handlebars and pull out the key.
  2. Lock the vehicle, using a cycle lock (wheel-locking device), etc.

Reference — Immobilizer (Anti-theft device)

An immobilizer is an anti-theft device using an electronic key verification system, in which an encrypted code (ID code) transmitted from a dedicated key is checked by a computer in the body of the vehicle, and the engine cannot be started unless it is identified as an authorized key.

6. Securing a Storage Place

A person in possession of (an owner, user, or oversight person of) an automobile (excluding two-wheeled vehicles) must secure a storage place for the automobile within 2 km of the vehicle's base of operations, such as the person's residential location, in places other than roads.

※ There is no legal requirement to secure a storage place for two-wheeled vehicles; however, secure a storage place other than roads.

Reference — Notification of a storage place

7. Effects of Parking

Illegal parking not only disturbs the safe and smooth traffic, but also affects every area of our social life. When you park a vehicle on the road, in addition to observing the laws, you should pay sufficient attention to the following to avoid obstructing other traffic, disturbing other people, or causing a traffic accident, even if parking is not prohibited in the area.

① Is it safe?

② Does it cause disturbance to others?

③ Isn't it violating the laws and regulations?

Let's Try — Course Content 11 — Check your understanding with right/wrong questions.

(See page 275 for answers.)

  1. Parking refers to a continuous stopping of a vehicle, etc., or the vehicle is stopped and the driver being away from the vehicle and not able to drive it immediately.
  2. Parking and stopping are prohibited in the areas within 10 m of a signboard (sign pole) of a bus stop during operating hours of the buses.
  3. Areas within 3 m of the entrances and exits of sites for automobile use, such as parking lots and garages, are no parking or stopping areas.
  4. A person in possession of an automobile must secure a storage place for the automobile that is not on the road and is within 2 km of the automobile's base of operations.
  5. Stops to load and unload passengers or stops within 5 minutes to load and unload cargo is not considered parking.
  6. When a side strip is wide enough, you can park or stop in the side strip, provided that you ensure a space of 0.75 m or more to the left side of the vehicle.
  7. Parking is prohibited within 5 m of hydrants, the traffic signs indicating firefighting water supply, and the inlet of water tanks for firefighting.
  8. Though the space on the road to the right side of the vehicle was less than 3.5 m, a vehicle was parked because the traffic was light.
  9. When a driver leaves the vicinity of his/her vehicle, he/she should put the gear in reverse on a flat land or a downward slope, and in low on an upward slope. As for automatic transmission vehicles, the driver should put the gear to N (neutral).
  10. On the road where the no parking/stopping sign (8-20) is displayed, parking and stopping are prohibited throughout the day.

(正: right, 誤: wrong)