Why so few "runaway Toyota" incidents in the rest of the world?

Thanks Tamyu - very interesting to read and I think I may have lost my license long ago in that regime!! Does it mean many people never bother driving? I understand public transport in Japan is excellent.

 

Yes, people in inner cities with commutes within the city often don`t get a license. This isn`t just the time and money involved in getting a license - it is to do with the costs of having a car. Vehicle ownership taxes, vehicle emissions etc checks, the cost of parking (most parking spaces are rented like apartments. In areas without much land a parking space will cost $500+ USD a month), and the cost of gasoline... It isn`t worth having a car if you are not going to drive it regularly enough to make it a better value than public transportation. And if you have no plans to own a car, then there is no reason to invest money and time into a license.

It`s still fairly common for university students to get their licenses though for potential employment uses even if they live in the city and will not be owning a car.

If you live out in the countryside though, public transportation is very very thin once away from cities and the main train lines connecting them... So almost everyone drives.

 

More or less the same joke in Belgium

 

Very.　If it were a little bit warmer, even though I don`t live in the inner city I could still easily go to everything but work by walking or bicycle.
I think that pretty much everyone owns a bicycle and uses it regularly. From your house to a train station is usually by bicycle unless it is really close.
Shopping is always within walking/bicycling distance. Zoning is mixed, so it is a bit rare for there to be big areas of just residential buildings. Unless you are really out and far from everything, you can survive without a car.

 

Here in Slovenia it is similar like elsewhere around the Europe:
- Accredited driving school,
- Many hours of theory,
- Pass written driving test before being allowed to drive in a driving school car,
- Have at least 20 hours of driving in school car with driving instructor,
- Pass government written driving test,
- Pass real world driving test in real car in real traffic in duration of at least 30 minutes with two government examiners in the back of the car which determine if you pass or not.

And then you get a driving license and for two years you are marked us beginner. Which menas stricter rules when you behave badly on the road - you can loose your license easier. Basically to demote stupid behavior by young fresh drivers hitting the gas pedal to maximum after getting their license.

 

I forgot to mention this... They do something similar in Japan. Until your first license renewal I believe there are fewer points until license loss. An accident or infraction will make you lose points - more for how serious.
For the first year, you are required by law to identify your car as being driven by a new driver. There is an official new driver mark that must be affixed to front and back of your vehicle.
I believe it is to warn others driving around you that you are not an experienced driver so they should be more careful of you.

 

Tamyu, excellent insights shared here and in the "no recalls in Japan... " thread. Are you Japanese or a long term foreign resident? I lived near Tokyo for about 10 years. Luckily as a foreign driver's license holder I only had to take an easy paper test and drive the exam course to get my Japanese license. Still much harder to pass than when I got my US license at 16. I opted to take the test with a manual transmission car because it means that I can drive one if needed. Yes folks, if you take the drivers test in an automatic, you are NOT licensed to drive a manual. We have it WAY too easy here.

- D

 

Somewhere between the two. I live here permanently, but was raised in the US. I came here during high school, finished it here, and have lived here since.

There is always TONS of complaining and whining (sorry to call it that, but it is true) from foreigners in Japan getting a license - even with how easy it is to change over to a Japanese license. In my eyes, it is still so much easier for them that is seems very silly.
I only have an automatic license - it would have been about $800USD more plus another 10 to 15 hours of classes to get manual. Because we don`t own a manual vehicle and it is doubtful that we will buy one I opted to save money and time.
But if you take a course for manual, you can upgrade an automatic license at any time. If some time I need to have one, I will just go back and take the upgrade course. I think it is better than getting a manual license even if you don`t need it - forgetting it all because you only drive automatic. Then failing a test later because you forgot. Like my husband did...

 

LOL, yeah that would be embarassing. Hope you didn't give him too much grief. I actually failed my driving exam the first try because I made a right turn onto the two lane road and just naturally (for me) pulled into the right lane - which of course would be oncoming traffic. Oops. Had to come back later for a 2nd try. I promise, no whining from me at the time.

- D

 

Excellent idea!

I lived in Mexico for 4 1/2 years, and Spain for a year and a half. I never drove a car all that time. I lived walking distance from the city center and grocery shopping in both places, and public transportation is excellent in both places. Once every month or two I needed a car. When that happened, I took a taxi. Much cheaper and more convenient than maintaining a private car.