Patience’s not a virtue, but a necessity while driving in Japan
From CFAY Safety Office

A fellow traffic safety professional once told me, “It’s not when someone gets in your way while you are driving, but how often it happens when you drive here in Japan.” This is a reality no matter what your vehicle of choice is. You have to keep your head on a swivel and maintain a high level of situational awareness at all times while driving on or off the base.

We get many comments forwarded to us in the Traffic Safety Office through various means of correspondence and we try to address them as best we can. Although we do our best, we don’t always make everyone happy and still keep our roadways, walkways and traveling avenues safe for all. This is where you come in.

We all share the roads and we all have the right to be on these roads to get from one place to another whether by car, bicycle, motorcycle, moped or walking. The key word here is ‘share.’ We must consider the fact that we are not in our home country of the United States. and traveling conditions here in Japan are very different. We have more pedestrians, bikes and motorized two-wheeled vehicles than you are probably used to. Knowing this, we must condition ourselves to think and act the way our host nation does. As the old cliché goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

We live, work and play in a very congested, heavily traveled area with ongoing construction projects, limited parking and mission related activities during most of the day. This holds true for the Ikego and Negishi Housing Detachment areas as well.

So the next time you’re traveling to and from work or running errands on base, try to keep in mind that you are not the only one trying to get somewhere and do your part by following the rules and having a little more patience. Remember that we are all ambassadors in Japan and we should all strive to be a responsible member of the Yokosuka base community.