Japan increases expressway limit to 120kph

Trials revealed driving at higher speeds had little effect on the number of accidents
By Ben Spencer August 5, 2020 Read time: 1 min
Moving up: Japan reassesses the speed limit on expressways (© Fukamiyoga | Dreamstime.com)

Japan's National Police Agency (NPA) intends to raise the speed limit on some sections of the country's expressway network to 120kph.

Japan Times says the speed limit will be increased from 100kph on sections of expressways that are designed to be safe and have low accident rates. Large trucks will continue driving below 80kph. 

The changes could apply to the Tohoku expressway between the Hanamaki-Minami and Morioka-Minami interchanges, the Joban expressway between the Kashiwa and Mito interchanges and the Shin-Tomei expressway between the Gotenba and Hamamatsu-Inasa junctions.

The public safety commission in each area will approve the speed limit increase following discussions with local police and expressway operators.

The portion of the Shin-Tomei expressway may receive approval this fiscal year. 

New signs will be used to highlight the sections of expressways where the speed limit will be increased to 120kph. 
 

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Building the case for photo enforcement
    October 26, 2016
    As red light enforcement is returning to some intersections and being shut down at others, new evidence has been released backing the safety campaigners, reports Jon Masters. In 2014, 709 Americans were killed in red-light-running crashes and an estimated 126,000 were injured according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
    Read More
  • Reducing climate impacts starts at the intersection, says Inrix
    September 11, 2023
    The tools to identify and reduce unnecessary delays at intersections are here – and traffic signal performance improvement is also eligible for US government funding, points out Rick Schuman of Inrix
    Read More
  • Coalition urges White House to reject plan for open spectrum
    May 6, 2016
    A coalition of over fifty 50 automakers, state transportation agencies and other groups has written to the White House and other federal policymakers urging them not to open a portion of the wireless spectrum reserved for connected vehicles in the near future, says Reuters. The letter was signed by major auto trade groups representing nearly the entire auto industry, including Toyota Motor Corp, Ford Motor Co, General Motors Co, Volkswagen AG and Honda. It came after a cable industry trade group and some te
    Read More
  • Driver training saves lives, increases profits, reduces costs
    February 3, 2012
    An innovative UK Government initiative on work-related driver training has resulted in astonishing success, not only in terms of government objectives, but also in substantial cost-benefits for companies and public sector authorities participating in the scheme: they save lives and increase profits/reduce costs Here, we present an overview of the initiative and, overleaf, provide a detailed cost-benefit analysis which amply illustrates why it has been enthusiastically embraced by industry and the public sec
    Read More

Highlighted Content