More than half of local governments nationwide have enacted ordinances requiring bicyclists to be insured, according to a poll conducted by The Yomiuri Shimbun.
The poll found that 28 of 47 prefectures and 11 of 20 ordinance-designated cities have adopted bike insurance regulations, which in some cases is only an obligation to make an effort to obtain coverage.
This month marks the fifth anniversary of the Hyogo prefectural government implementing the nation's first bike insurance ordinance, and more municipalities are considering such mandates because the number of cyclists is increasing during the novel coronavirus pandemic as people shun public transportation.
The Hyogo prefectural government introduced the ordinance after the Kobe District Court ordered an elementary school boy to pay about 95 million yen in compensation for a bicycle accident that he caused in 2013.
Against a backdrop of similar judicial decisions involving large compensation sums, more local governments started enacting the insurance regulations.
The Yomiuri Shimbun polled local governments and found that Tokyo, Saitama, Shizuoka and 14 other prefectures, as well as nine cities, require cyclists to be insured, while Hokkaido and Ibaraki are among 11 prefectures, along with two cities, that have ordinances encouraging cyclists to get insured. In addition, Aomori, Mie and Oita prefectures are planning to enact regulations within this fiscal year.
There were about 80,000 bicycle accidents in 2019 nationwide, according to the National Police Agency. Although the number as a whole has dropped by half compared with a decade ago, accidents involving pedestrians have leveled off at around 2,000 per year. Of the 299 accidents in 2017 in which pedestrians died or were seriously injured, only 60% involved cyclists confirmed to have insurance.
The number of accidents linked to bicyclists using smartphones while riding is on the rise. The Kanagawa prefectural government enacted its ordinance in October last year in the wake of a fatal accident in which a bicyclist was using a smartphone while cycling.
Although no local government has established penalties for cycling without insurance, the number of policyholders, including riders having other types of insurance, has increased since the ordinances were enacted.
The Chiba city government plans to "upgrade" its current ordinance from an obligation to make an effort to mandatory next fiscal year. "We aim to increase the number of policyholders by making it obligatory," a city official said.
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