Originally Posted by 50PlusCycling

Nowhere in any drivers handbook in America will it specifically say that where there is a bike lane, a bicycle can still ride on the street. And even if it did, you wouldn’t find a question in a written drivers license test. That being the case, drivers will of course think that a cyclist shouldn’t ride outside a bike lane.

When I got my Japan drivers license, that wasn’t the case. The handbook and test make it very clear that cyclists use the roadway, and make very clear the harsh consequences a driver will face if they hit a cyclist. This being the case, cycling on Japanese roadways is quite safe.

Japan’s approach to safety focuses on drivers, because no matter how safe you try to make a vehicle or a road, it will only be safe as the driver you operates a vehicle on that road. Therefore, Japan’s driver training for licenses and traffic laws are harsh, and the system works. Japan’s per capita traffic fatality rate is one-fifth America’s rate.