Driving rules

There are some differences between Canada and Japan about driving rules. The most different thing is the direction of roads; we have to drive left side in Japan while right side in Canada. All the drives seats in Canada are set left, but in Japan both sides are allowed. There are some special rules in Canada which we don't have in Japan. 4 way rule seemed strange for me soon after I came to Vancouver. I sometimes missed the sign of 4 way and drove through 4 way junctions without stopping. Talking of stopping, we have to stop at railroad crossing in Japan, but we mustn't stop in Canada. I think HOV (Highly Occupied Vehicle) lane is a rational rule. Most cars are too large for only one person and it is better for some people to share one car. What I can't understand in Canada is the manner of left turn. Most main street in Canada has three lanes, but if there are only one car which is going to turn left, the left most lane is dammed, and usually there are some cars parked in the right most lane. So, only one of three lanes are available and it causes traffic jams. Talking about motorcycles, there are few motorcylces in Canada while the roads in Japan are full of them. In Japan, it is natural for motorcylces to pass through between cars or between cars and sidewalks. This is very dangerous and we have quite a few traffic accidents related to motorcycles in Japan. Altogether, I prefer driving in Canada because there are less traffic jams.

Comments

[peter]

There are some differences between Canada and Japan about driving rules. The most obvious thing is the driving direction ; we have to drive on the left-hand side in Japan whereas it is the right-hand side in Canada. All the driving seats in Canada are set on the left, but in Japan both sides are allowed. There are some special rules in Canada which we don't have in Japan. The 4 way rule seemed strange for me after I came to Vancouver. I sometimes missed the 4 way sign and drove through 4 way junctions without stopping. Talking of stopping, we have to stop at railroad crossings in Japan, but we don't have to stop in Canada. I think the HOV (Highly Occupied Vehicle) lane is a good idea. Most cars are too large for only one person and it is better for some people to share one car. What I can't understand in Canada is the left-hand turn. Most main streets in Canada have three lanes, but turning left can be very difficult, because you have to go against the flow of traffic on the other side of the road, especially when parking is allowed on your side of the road. Talking about motorcycles, there are few motorcylces in Canada while the roads in Japan are full of them. In Japan, it is natural for motorcylces to pass between cars or between cars and the sidewalks. This is very dangerous and we have quite a few traffic accidents related to motorcycles in Japan. Altogether, I prefer driving in Canada because there are less traffic jams.

August 19, 2004 | Permalink