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Pedestrians and crosswalks

The check asks how drivers must treat people on foot, especially at crosswalks, and how to protect children, older people and people with disabilities. In Japan pedestrians have strong priority.

Key rules

• When you pass a pedestrian, leave a safe gap or slow down (徐行).
• Approaching a crosswalk, slow down so you can stop, unless it is clear that nobody is crossing.
• If a pedestrian is crossing or about to cross, stop before the crosswalk (before the stop line, if there is one) and let them go.
• If a car is stopped at or before a crosswalk, stop before you pass it and go forward.
• Do not overtake or pass other cars on a crosswalk or within 30 m before it.
• At an intersection with no crosswalk, do not block a pedestrian who is crossing.
• For a person with a white or yellow cane, a guide dog or a wheelchair, stop or slow down so they can pass safely.
• For a child walking alone, or an older person with a cane or walker, stop or slow down.
• When you pass a stopped school or kindergarten bus, slow down and check safety.

Numbers to remember

Common traps

• You must slow down at a crosswalk unless it is clear nobody is crossing. "Only if someone is on it" is wrong.
• A pedestrian who is about to cross counts as well as one already crossing.
• The 30 m ban covers passing (追抜き) as well as overtaking (追越し).
• For children, older people and people with disabilities, "stop or slow down" are both allowed, but you must let them pass safely.
• No crosswalk does not mean no duty: you must not block a pedestrian crossing at an intersection.

In Japan you must stop for a pedestrian who is about to cross, even at a crosswalk without a signal. Many drivers from abroad only slow down.

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