Today I renewed my license. First there was the long, inconvenient drive to the DMV. It was worse than usual because a combo supermarket/mall was holding grand opening sales a few blocks down the road and the multitudes were out looking for bargains. I finally got to the DMV parking lot. There were no parking spaces in sight, so the wife dropped me off and headed off for the shopping mall. I got in line, paid the renewal fee and passed the eye test. The worrying thing is that I have marginal vision in one eye, need industrial strength glasses, yet almost passed the test without corrective lenses. Only had to go to a 30 minute lecture because I have a gold license, i.e. I don't drive much and haven't racked up any speeding tickets or traffic infractions over the last 3 years. Our instructor wrung his hands and bemoaned the lack to time--there were so many things to talk about, but he was forced to limit himself to a general summary of the state of traffic safety on a national and local scale. He came out from behind the podium, took off his sport coat, folded it neatly, and we off. Here's the highlights.
- Most traffic fatalities in my part of Japan involve hitting old people who wander out into the road. Constant vigilance is the only recourse.
- Rear-end collisions at intersections were the most common accidents in the prefecture. People, when the light turns green, look before you press down on the accelerator.
- The bane of traffic safety is cell phone use by drivers. Violations continue to rise despite stricter laws. And don't even think of using some kind of microphone/earphone system. You won't be able to hear those ambulances coming up behind you carrying the old people who've been hit because they suddenly veered into traffic, and earphone use while driving is illegal anyway.
