OVERSPEED Lost license
07-23-07, 01:24 AM
#26
Senior Member
IF, they know what they are doing the police will ask to see your gaijin card or passport if you show them an international licence, and as both show when you came into the country you'd better be careful about when you say you arrived
as cct said the international is only good for 3 months then you have to have a japanese licence
you have to, by law, carry either your passport or gaijin card with you at all times. if you don't have either they can arrest you and lock you up until the matter is sorted out. the way it is usually sorted out is by calling your boss and city hall to see if you are registered there
so if you get busted on a sat. morning you can spend the weekend in the cells until city hall opens monday morning
in the good old days there were hardly any foreigners here and they hardly ever caused problems so the cops didn't bother having special training or procedures with the result you usually got let off....
but with the increase is gaijin and the rise of right wing politicians like tokyo's ishihara they now DO have special procedures and are encouraged to follow them
as always acting humble and apologizing increases your chances of them just dropping the matter with a warning
eric e
as cct said the international is only good for 3 months then you have to have a japanese licence
you have to, by law, carry either your passport or gaijin card with you at all times. if you don't have either they can arrest you and lock you up until the matter is sorted out. the way it is usually sorted out is by calling your boss and city hall to see if you are registered there
so if you get busted on a sat. morning you can spend the weekend in the cells until city hall opens monday morning
in the good old days there were hardly any foreigners here and they hardly ever caused problems so the cops didn't bother having special training or procedures with the result you usually got let off....
but with the increase is gaijin and the rise of right wing politicians like tokyo's ishihara they now DO have special procedures and are encouraged to follow them
as always acting humble and apologizing increases your chances of them just dropping the matter with a warning
eric e
07-23-07, 02:03 PM
#27
Canyon Runner- I do have and have had an international drivers license ever since I came here and I have renewed them to make sure they were up to date and not expired.
However I also found this out the hard way. I had some fool in a Toyota 4runner(hilux) Put his car in park at a red light and then when it turned green he then put it in reverse and smashed the hood of my K-car. I was not at fault and had a spare hood available but it was a company car so they insisted on calling the police. Cops came, took my international license and my gaijin card and then informed me that even though the international license does not expire for one year from the issue date. It is only valid for the first three months you are in that country. blah blah blah... i went to the polices station a handful of times and was told I probably would not be allowed to get a Japanese license for awhile since I was basically operating a vehicle with no or an expired license. So I immediately went and got my Japanese license and I never heard anything else from the police regarding the previous incerident after that.
So if any of you do have international licenses and you have lived in japan for more than 3 months you are best off going to get your Japanese license unless you are here for armed forces services. If you do have to show you International license you will be best off only showing it and your foriegn Drivers license and not a gaijin card or a passport.
However I also found this out the hard way. I had some fool in a Toyota 4runner(hilux) Put his car in park at a red light and then when it turned green he then put it in reverse and smashed the hood of my K-car. I was not at fault and had a spare hood available but it was a company car so they insisted on calling the police. Cops came, took my international license and my gaijin card and then informed me that even though the international license does not expire for one year from the issue date. It is only valid for the first three months you are in that country. blah blah blah... i went to the polices station a handful of times and was told I probably would not be allowed to get a Japanese license for awhile since I was basically operating a vehicle with no or an expired license. So I immediately went and got my Japanese license and I never heard anything else from the police regarding the previous incerident after that.
So if any of you do have international licenses and you have lived in japan for more than 3 months you are best off going to get your Japanese license unless you are here for armed forces services. If you do have to show you International license you will be best off only showing it and your foriegn Drivers license and not a gaijin card or a passport.
Basically what I was trying to say is just play the dumb gaijin card, speak as little nihongo as possible (but enough to resolve the situation) and yes, only produce your international & US license. But you should sound apologetic...the Japanese are suckers for that!
If you have to show them your gaijin card then just play dumb and say you didn't know that the law has changed. You might get tongue lashed by those overly dedicated po-po but it beats having to throw away money.
08-14-07, 05:58 PM
#29
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Ontario, Canada
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Street Racing
In Canada the cops don't take street racing lightly in Toronto and Vancouver. If you are caught "street racing" they will impound your car and crush it right in front of you in the junk yard, to teach you a lesson. It is in the paper every few months now.
I don't know the system for speeding by yourself though.
I don't know the system for speeding by yourself though.
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