Expressways

50 questions

• When an emergency vehicle is trying to enter the main carriageway, cars already on the main carriageway have priority, so they do not need to give way.
• When entering the main lanes of an expressway, if an acceleration lane is provided, you must use that acceleration lane.
• When leaving the main lanes of an expressway, even if a deceleration lane is provided, the driver may freely choose whether or not to use it.
• When driving on an expressway, you should set your tire pressure slightly higher than usual.
• Before entering an expressway, it is enough to check fuel and coolant; you do not need to check the engine oil level.
• You may wait until after you have entered the expressway to check whether your load is secure.
• Because you must place a warning device when you stop on an expressway due to a breakdown, you should prepare one in advance.
• Driving on an expressway for many hours without a break is not dangerous, so a plan with no rest stops is fine.
• Before entering an expressway, it is good to check road and traffic conditions on the radio or with the Japan Road Traffic Information Center.
• On an expressway, the "main carriageway" does not include the acceleration lane, the climbing lane, or the road shoulder.
• When entering the main carriageway, if there is an acceleration lane you must use it and accelerate sufficiently.
• A vehicle about to enter the main carriageway has priority over vehicles already travelling on it, so it may merge first.
• On the main carriageway of a national expressway with no speed sign or marking, the statutory maximum speed for an ordinary vehicle (futsu-jidosha, excluding three-wheeled ones) is 100 km/h.
• On a national expressway main carriageway with no posted speed limit, the maximum speed for a large truck is 80 km/h.
• On a national expressway main carriageway with no posted limit, you must not drive slower than the minimum speed.
• On a dry road with new tyres, you need a following distance of about 100 metres at 100 km/h.
• On a wet road with worn tyres, it is enough to keep about half the following distance you would keep on a dry road.
• Even on a section where the main lanes are not divided into inbound and outbound, the legal speeds for national expressways apply.
• On an expressway, you may drive on the roadside strip or the shoulder when traffic is congested.
• On the main carriageway you must not make a U-turn, reverse, or cross the central reservation.
• If you break down on an expressway, hazard lights and similar lamps are only needed at night, and never in the daytime however poor the visibility.
• After a breakdown on an expressway, once you have taken the necessary safety measures it is safest to wait inside your vehicle.
• The term "expressway" covers not only national expressways but also motor-vehicle-only roads.
• A vehicle that cannot keep a speed of at least 50 km/h because it is towing another vehicle may not use a national expressway.
• In the pre-expressway inspection, you do not need to check whether the radiator cap is tightly closed.
• Before entering the expressway, I checked the fan belt's tension and looked for any damage.
• Before entering the expressway, checking the tyres' air pressure is enough; there is no need to look at the tread depth.
• On expressways, using a warning device that bears the TS mark is a legal requirement.
• After driving fast for a long time your sense of speed dulls and you tend to go too fast, so it is wise to keep checking the speedometer.
• Even on an expressway, in bad weather you need to drive at a speed that suits the conditions.
• Driving fast in the rain can make the tyres float on the water so the steering and brakes stop responding; this is called hydroplaning.
• It was a snowy day, but I assumed the expressway surface would be fine and drove at my usual speed.
• In bad weather, expressway interchanges may be closed to traffic, so pay particular attention to traffic information.
• While driving on an expressway, it is best to keep slightly to the right within your lane.
• The climbing lane is provided so that faster vehicles can overtake the vehicle ahead.
• When returning to your lane after overtaking on an expressway, wait until the whole of the overtaken vehicle appears in your rear-view mirror before moving back.
• When overtaking on an expressway, it is best to signal just before you change course.
• A vehicle with towing equipment that is towing a vehicle weighing more than 750 kg must use the leftmost lane on the main carriageway of a national expressway.
• When braking on an expressway, it is best to press the foot brake hard in one go.
• At the exits of tunnels and road cuttings, crosswinds can pull at the steering, so care is needed.
• Approaching a tunnel on the expressway, I slowed down in advance before entering it.
• When driving on an expressway at night, it is best to keep the headlights on low beam at all times.
• Even on an expressway there can be wrong-way vehicles or pedestrians who entered by mistake, so watch the road information boards as you drive.
• Even on an expressway, you may stop in order to pay a toll.
• On an expressway, if a breakdown leaves you no choice, you may stop on a shoulder or roadside strip that is wide enough.
• If walking is difficult and you cannot place the warning device on the road behind your car, you may place a warning light beside the car where it can be seen from behind.
• When placing a warning device on an expressway, use a flare to signal and take great care over following traffic.
• I dropped some of my load on the expressway, so I stopped at once, walked onto the carriageway myself, and picked it up.
• Approaching your exit, move in advance into the lane that connects to it, and if there is a deceleration lane, slow down in it while checking your speedometer.
• Right after leaving the expressway for an ordinary road, I felt I was moving with the traffic, so I did not check my speedometer.