What the Ehime Prefectural Police ask drivers to watch for on Ehime roads: Iyo no Hayamagari, crosswalks, dusk, and older people

The Ehime Prefectural Police call for care on right turns, crosswalks, dusk, and older people

The Traffic Department page on the Ehime Prefectural Police site has links to traffic safety flyers and posters. This page is what we read in the original text of the flyers and Prefecture materials that matter to people driving Ehime roads for the first time.

Message	Materials read	Section of this page
How to turn right (Iyo no Hayamagari)	Prefectural Police flyer, Ehime Prefecture implementation guideline	The next 3 sections
Stopping at crosswalks	2 Prefectural Police flyers, Ehime Prefecture implementation outline	Crosswalk section
Lights at dusk	Prefectural Police “Ehime Traffic Information,” Ehime Prefecture implementation guideline	Dusk section
Accidents involving older people	Prefectural Police flyer, quick statistics (豆統計)	Older people section, figures section

The rules for passing bicycles are in Rules for passing bicycles by car, and bicycles on the Shimanami Kaido, and the streetcar tracks in Matsuyama are in Rules for driving on the same road as streetcars in Matsuyama. This page does not repeat them.

The Prefectural Police flyer explains what “Iyo no Hayamagari” means

Under “Traffic safety education (rules, manners)” on the Prefectural Police’s Traffic Department page, there is a link to a flyer titled “いけんよ!!伊予の早曲がりは危険な交通違反です！” (Don’t do it!! Iyo no Hayamagari is a dangerous traffic violation!). The flyer’s heading is ““伊予の早曲がり”は危険な交通違反です！” (“Iyo no Hayamagari” is a dangerous traffic violation!), and it explains the meaning in a box as follows.

※ いわゆる「伊予の早曲がり」とは、交差点を右折する時、対向車が接近しているのに、先に右折する行為をいいます。

Translation: “*The so-called ‘Iyo no Hayamagari’ means the act of turning right first when turning right at an intersection, even though an oncoming car is approaching.”

The flyer also says that the Prefectural Police are stepping up enforcement of intersection violations.

◆　県警では、交通事故の約半数が交差点で発生している実態を踏まえ、交差点違反（交差点優先車妨害、信号無視、一時不停止等）の取締りを強化しています。

Translation: “◆ Based on the fact that about half of traffic accidents happen at intersections, the Prefectural Police are stepping up enforcement of intersection violations (obstructing a vehicle with priority at an intersection, ignoring traffic lights, failing to stop at a stop sign, and so on).”

No issue date is written on the flyer. On this page, we read it as the flyer that was on the Prefectural Police website on October 13, 2026, when we obtained it.

The flyer has 3 example violations and 3 correct ways to turn right

The flyer puts “intersection violation examples” on the left half and “correct way to turn right” on the right half, in diagrams. The 3 violation examples and their fixed penalties (ordinary car) are as follows.

Number	Violation name on the flyer	Fixed penalty (ordinary car)
①	Obstructing a vehicle with priority at an intersection (交差点優先車妨害)	6,000 yen (6千円)
②	Violation of the method of turning right or left at an intersection (交差点右左折方法違反)	4,000 yen (4千円)
③	Obstructing a pedestrian crossing (横断歩行者妨害)	9,000 yen (9千円)

The “correct way to turn right” lists these 3 points.

1. Do not obstruct the progress of oncoming cars.
2. Move toward the center of the intersection (the diagram also says “move toward the center of the road”).
3. Give priority to pedestrians crossing.

There are 2 “danger points,” and each has a message from the Prefectural Police.

対向車に注意が集中し、その陰を走行する二輪車や横断歩行者を見落とすことが…。

Translation: “Attention focuses on the oncoming car, and you may miss a two-wheeled vehicle or a pedestrian crossing that is behind it…”

The flyer’s message in response is as follows.

交差点は直進(左折)車が優先です。対向車が途切れるまで待ちましょう！

Translation: “At an intersection, vehicles going straight (or turning left) have priority. Let’s wait until the oncoming cars stop coming!”

右折を急ぐ(斜めに右折する)と、進入速度が高くなり重大事故発生の危険性が…。

Translation: “If you hurry a right turn (turn right diagonally), your entry speed goes up and there is a danger of a serious accident…”

The message in response to this is as follows.

交差点の中心に寄り(直角に)、速度と安全確認に余裕を持って右折しましょう！

Translation: “Move toward the center of the intersection (at a right angle), and turn right with room to spare in speed and safety checks!”

The flyer closes with “『ゆとり』のある運転で、伊予路に思いやりと譲り合いの輪を広げましょう！”

Translation: “With driving that has ‘room to spare,’ let’s spread a circle of consideration and giving way on the roads of Iyo!”

The articles that fit the flyer’s 3 violation names are Article 37, Article 34, and Article 38

The Prefectural Police flyer does not give article numbers of the Road Traffic Act. The matching below is this page’s own reading, after reading the articles on e-Gov Law Search (e-Gov 法令検索). It is not a matching shown by the Prefectural Police.

Violation name on the flyer	Article we read as matching
Obstructing a vehicle with priority at an intersection	Article 37
Violation of the method of turning right or left at an intersection	Article 34, paragraph 2
Obstructing a pedestrian crossing	Article 38, paragraph 1

Article 37 forbids a right-turning vehicle from obstructing the progress of vehicles going straight or turning left.

車両等は、交差点で右折する場合において、当該交差点において直進し、又は左折しようとする車両等があるときは、当該車両等の進行妨害をしてはならない。

Translation: “When a vehicle turns right at an intersection, and there is a vehicle that is going straight or about to turn left at that intersection, the vehicle must not obstruct the progress of that vehicle.”

Article 34, paragraph 2 sets how to turn right.

自動車、一般原動機付自転車又はトロリーバスは、右折するときは、あらかじめその前からできる限り道路の中央に寄り、かつ、交差点の中心の直近の内側（道路標識等により通行すべき部分が指定されているときは、その指定された部分）を徐行しなければならない。

Translation: “When a motor vehicle, a general motorized bicycle, or a trolley bus turns right, it must, in advance, move as far toward the center of the road as possible from before the turn, and must slow down and drive on the inside, as close as possible to the center of the intersection (or, when the part to be driven on is specified by a road sign or similar, that specified part).”

The flyer’s “move toward the center of the road” and “move toward the center of the intersection” are messages in the same direction as this article. For right turns on a one-way road, Article 34, paragraph 4 has a separate rule. This page does not quote that article.

Ehime Prefecture’s guideline also uses the words “Iyo no Hayamagari”

The outline page of Ehime Prefecture’s “Reiwa 7 Traffic Safety Prefectural Residents’ Campaign Implementation Outline” (令和７年度交通安全県民総ぐるみ運動実施要綱) lists 7 priority points of the campaign. One of them is “promoting measures to prevent traffic accidents at intersections” (交差点の交通事故防止対策の推進). On the same page, in the “year-round campaign guidelines” (通年キャンペーンの推進要領), the “Intersection Manners Up Campaign guideline” (交差点マナーアップキャンペーンの推進要領, PDF) has this item among the things to carry out.

いわゆる｢伊予の早曲がり｣の根絶

Translation: “Eradicating the so-called ‘Iyo no Hayamagari’”

The purpose of the same guideline is as follows.

この運動は、「交差点は危険な場所」であることを広く呼びかけ、自転車利用者を含むドライバーは「交差点 よく見る 止まる 徐行する」を徹底するとともに、歩行者も正しい安全な横断等を励行し、交差点事故の防止を図ることを目的とする。

Translation: “The purpose of this campaign is to call widely for awareness that ‘intersections are dangerous places,’ to have drivers, including bicycle users, thoroughly ‘look carefully, stop, and slow down at intersections,’ to have pedestrians also practice correct and safe crossing, and to prevent intersection accidents.”

The period of this guideline is “from April 1, Reiwa 7 to March 31, Reiwa 8” (令和７年４月１日から令和８年３月 31 日までの間), which has already ended. We could not find the same guideline for Reiwa 8. The Ehime Prefecture implementation outline (PDF) for the autumn 2026 campaign does not use the words “Iyo no Hayamagari.”

The Prefecture’s guideline does not give article numbers either.

Crosswalks: the Prefectural Police call for “pedestrians first” and ask “Are you stopping?”

The Prefectural Police have a crosswalk flyer for drivers. Its heading is “ドライバーのみなさん！横断歩道は歩行者優先です。” (Drivers! Pedestrians have priority at crosswalks.), and below it is written “「横断歩道」で止まっていますか？” (Are you stopping at crosswalks?). The flyer’s text is as follows.

横断歩道で歩行者が渡ろうとしているにもかかわらず、一時停止をしないでそのまま通過するのは違反です！！

Translation: “It is a violation to pass straight through a crosswalk without stopping when a pedestrian is about to cross!!”

The flyer lists the penalties for “obstructing a pedestrian crossing, etc.” (横断歩行者妨害等) as follows.

Item	What the flyer says
Penalty	Imprisonment with labor for up to 3 months or a fine of up to 50,000 yen; for negligence, a fine of up to 100,000 yen (3月以下の懲役または5万円以下の罰金、過失10万円以下の罰金)
Violation points	2 points
Fixed penalty (ordinary car)	9,000 yen

The flyer’s word for “imprisonment with labor” (懲役) is “confinement” (拘禁刑) in the current Article 119 of the Road Traffic Act on e-Gov.

The fixed penalty for “obstructing a pedestrian crossing” is also written as “普通車９千円” (ordinary car 9,000 yen) on the right-turn flyer, so the 2 flyers agree.

The flyer also writes about the road marking “◇”.

道路標示「◇」の先には横断歩道があります。

Translation: “There is a crosswalk ahead of the road marking ‘◇’.”

横断歩道で横断しようとする歩行者がいるときは、必ず、一時停止しましょう。

Translation: “When there is a pedestrian about to cross at a crosswalk, be sure to stop.”

Article 38, paragraph 1 of the Road Traffic Act sets the duty of vehicles approaching a crosswalk as follows.

車両等は、横断歩道又は自転車横断帯（以下この条において「横断歩道等」という。）に接近する場合には、当該横断歩道等を通過する際に当該横断歩道等によりその進路の前方を横断しようとする歩行者又は自転車（以下この条において「歩行者等」という。）がないことが明らかな場合を除き、当該横断歩道等の直前（道路標識等による停止線が設けられているときは、その停止線の直前。以下この項において同じ。）で停止することができるような速度で進行しなければならない。この場合において、横断歩道等によりその進路の前方を横断し、又は横断しようとする歩行者等があるときは、当該横断歩道等の直前で一時停止し、かつ、その通行を妨げないようにしなければならない。

Translation: “When a vehicle approaches a crosswalk or a bicycle crossing zone (hereinafter in this article, a ‘crosswalk, etc.’), except when it is clear that there is no pedestrian or bicycle (hereinafter in this article, a ‘pedestrian, etc.’) who is about to cross in front of its path by that crosswalk, etc. when it passes it, the vehicle must proceed at a speed at which it can stop just before that crosswalk, etc. (or, when a stop line is provided by a road sign or similar, just before that stop line; the same applies below in this paragraph). In this case, when there is a pedestrian, etc. who is crossing or about to cross in front of its path by the crosswalk, etc., the vehicle must stop just before that crosswalk, etc., and must not obstruct their passage.”

In Ehime, there is a campaign for pedestrians to raise a hand when crossing

Ehime Prefecture’s campaigns include “Adults, raise your hand too” (大人も手を上げよう). The Prefectural Police flyer words its message to pedestrians as follows.

道路を横断する時は、車に対し 手を上げる（ちょっとでも） 手のひらを見せる などのジェスチャーで、横断する意思表示を行って、 車が止まったことを確認してから、 横断を始めましょう。

Translation: “When you cross the road, show the car that you intend to cross with a gesture such as raising your hand (even a little) or showing your palm, and start crossing after you have confirmed that the car has stopped.”

This campaign is also part of the “Ehime Prefecture priorities” (愛媛県重点) of the autumn 2026 campaign. Also included is the promotion of the “Look ahead! Driving Project” (前見て！運転プロジェクト), and the Prefecture’s implementation outline gives one of its contents as “promoting efforts that urge slowing down and safety checks before crosswalks, and stopping without fail when a crossing pedestrian is found” (横断歩道手前での減速と安全確認、横断歩行者発見時の一時停止の徹底を促す取組の推進).

The Prefecture’s implementation outline also has the following item aimed at drivers.

横断歩道等に歩行者等がいないことが明らかな場合を除き、直前で停止可能な速度で進行する義務や、横断歩道等における歩行者等優先義務等の遵守を促す取組の推進

Translation: “Promoting efforts that urge compliance with the duty to proceed at a speed at which one can stop just before a crosswalk, etc., except when it is clear that there is no pedestrian, etc., and with the duty to give priority to pedestrians, etc. at crosswalks, etc.”

On the Prefectural Police’s “Traffic Accident Map” (交通事故マップ) (January 1, Reiwa 5 to December 31, Reiwa 7, that is, 2023 to 2025), the map of accidents with pedestrians crossing the road has the following comment.

横断中の事故は、暗い時間帯だけでなく、昼間も多く発生しています。

Translation: “Accidents while crossing happen often not only in the dark hours but also during the daytime.”

Dusk: the Prefectural Police recommend 17:00 in October, and 16:30 in November and December

The Prefectural Police’s “Ehime Traffic Information” (えひめ交通情報), issued October 6, 2026 (No. 409), carries a campaign on lights at dusk. The contents are as follows.

Item	What the Prefectural Police say
Period	October 1 (Thursday) to December 31 (Thursday), Reiwa 8 (2026) (令和８年10月１日（木）～12月31日（木）)
Recommended time to turn lights on	17:00 in October, 16:30 in November and December
Low beam	Illuminates about 40 m
High beam	Illuminates about 100 m

The same page says, “夜間点灯したライトをこまめに切り替えることを心がけましょう！”

Translation: “Let’s try to switch the lights that are on at night often!”

Ehime Prefecture’s Reiwa 7 guideline (October 1 to December 31, 2025) gives a guide for when to turn lights on at dusk, and how to use headlights. That period has already ended, and we could not confirm a Reiwa 8 guideline.

夕暮れ時は、日没 30 分前からのライト（前照灯）点灯

Translation: “At dusk, turn on lights (headlights) from 30 minutes before sunset.”

自動車の前照灯は上向きが原則であり、対向車両がある場合などは下向きにするなど、こまめな切り替えを実施

Translation: “As a rule, a car’s headlights are set to high beam. When there is an oncoming vehicle, for example, switch to low beam, and switch often.”

Article 52, paragraph 1 of the Road Traffic Act sets lights at night as follows.

車両等は、夜間（日没時から日出時までの時間をいう。以下この条及び第六十三条の九第二項において同じ。）、道路にあるときは、政令で定めるところにより、前照灯、車幅灯、尾灯その他の灯火をつけなければならない。政令で定める場合においては、夜間以外の時間にあつても、同様とする。

Translation: “When a vehicle is on a road at night (meaning the time from sunset to sunrise; the same applies below in this article and in Article 63-9, paragraph 2), it must turn on headlights, side lights, tail lights, and other lights as set by Cabinet Order. In cases set by Cabinet Order, the same applies at times other than night.”

The time recommended by the Prefectural Police is a campaign message, separate from the time for lights at night that the law sets.

The Ehime Prefecture slogan for the autumn 2026 National Traffic Safety Campaign was “黄昏に　一番星の　前照灯” (At dusk, headlights like the first star) (the period was September 21 to 30, and has ended). The Prefecture’s implementation outline writes the following about dusk.

夕暮れ時から夜間における死亡事故の特徴（日の入り後１時間における横断中の事故が多いなど）を踏まえた交通安全教育等の推進

Translation: “Promoting traffic safety education and the like based on the features of fatal accidents from dusk into the night (for example, many accidents while crossing in the first hour after sunset).”

This sentence is written as a priority of the national campaign, and is not an Ehime Prefecture figure.

Of the 3 rules for preventing accidents involving older people, the 3 for people who drive

The Prefectural Police’s flyer “3 Rules for Preventing Traffic Accidents Involving Older People” (高齢者交通事故防止３か条) is divided into “for drivers of cars” and “for pedestrians and cyclists.” The 3 for drivers of cars are as follows.

1. At intersections: look carefully, stop, slow down (交差点　よく見る　止まる　徐行する)
2. Check again: what you should be able to see, you may not see (再確認　見えてるはずが見えてない)
3. At dusk: reduce speed, and turn lights on early (夕暮れ時　スピード控えて　早目のライト)

The first has a speech bubble that says “一時停止しましたか？” (Did you stop at the stop sign?). The 3 for pedestrians and cyclists are “あせりは禁物　急がば回れ　横断歩道” (Don’t rush; the long way is the quick way; use the crosswalk), “気をつけよう　家の近所に　落とし穴” (Be careful: pitfalls near your home), and “身につけよう　夜道に光る　反射材” (Wear reflective material that shines on night roads). No issue date is written on the flyer.

On the Prefectural Police’s “Traffic Accident Map,” the map of fatal traffic accidents has the following comment.

高齢者が被害者となる事故が多発しています。

Translation: “Accidents in which older people are the victims happen frequently.”

The messages about older people are aimed not only at the side that drives, but also at the side that walks on the road.

The Prefectural Police’s published figures for 2025

From the Prefectural Police’s “Reiwa 7 Traffic Accident Statistics” (令和７年の交通事故統計, quick statistics 豆統計), we take the figures related to the messages on this page. In 2025 (Reiwa 7), Ehime Prefecture had 2,077 accidents and 46 deaths.

Item (2025)	Count	Category in the quick statistics
Intersection with traffic light	335	By road shape
Intersection without traffic light	709	By road shape
Near an intersection	428	By road shape
Vehicle vs. vehicle, while turning right	159 (133 in 2024)	By type
Person vs. vehicle, while crossing	156, with 8 deaths	By type
Accidents at 16:00-18:00	338 (the most by time of day)	By time of day
Accidents with an older person (65 or over) as the first party	648 (31.2% of the total), with 21 deaths (45.7% of the total)	By age group

Adding 335 accidents at intersections with traffic lights and 709 at intersections without them gives 1,044. This is a calculation, and is 50.3% of 2,077. It agrees with the flyer’s “about half of traffic accidents happen at intersections.” The flyer does not write the year of its figure, so we could not confirm which year it is from.

By day and night, the daytime had 1,599 accidents with a fatal accident rate of 1.8%, and the nighttime had 478 with a fatal accident rate of 3.8%. The Prefectural Police write, “夜間は、昼間に比べ死亡事故率が約２.1倍” (At night, the fatal accident rate is about 2.1 times that of the daytime).

The following points cannot be said from the figures.

• The 159 for “while turning right” is a count in the quick statistics’ by-type table, in the category of vehicle vs. vehicle accidents while turning right (the 98 for bicycle vs. vehicle “turning right or left” are a separate category). We could not confirm, from the Prefectural Police’s materials, the number of accidents caused by “Iyo no Hayamagari.”
• “First party” (第1当事者) is the person “with the greater fault” in the accident. These figures alone do not show the share relative to the number of older people who are driving on the roads.

The figures on this page agree with those in Counting Ehime’s traffic accidents from public data (2019-2025) (2,077 accidents, 46 deaths, and the counts for intersections and near intersections). That article counts National Police Agency open data, and also has a map and counts by city and town.

The legal speed limit on residential roads is 30 km/h from September 1, 2026

The autumn 2026 implementation outline of Ehime Prefecture has an item, “promoting publicity and awareness that, from September 1, Reiwa 8, the legal speed limit on residential roads will be 30 kilometers per hour” (令和８年９月１日から、生活道路においては法定速度が 30 キロメートル毎時になることの広報啓発の推進). The National Police Agency page describes the change as follows.

令和８年９月1日から 生活道路における自動車の法定速度が60km/hから30km/hに引き下げ となります。

Translation: “From September 1, Reiwa 8, the legal speed limit for cars on residential roads will be lowered from 60 km/h to 30 km/h.”

On which roads are covered, the National Police Agency page writes as follows.

法定速度が60km/hから30km/hに引き下げられる道路は、主に地域住民の日常生活に利用されるような、中央線等がない道路（＝生活道路）です。

Translation: “The roads where the legal speed limit is lowered from 60 km/h to 30 km/h are roads without a center line or similar that are mainly used in the daily life of local residents (= residential roads).”

Roads where the speed is specified by a sign are different.

道路標識又は道路標示により最高速度が指定されている道路では、法定速度ではなく、指定されている速度が自動車の最高速度となります。

Translation: “On roads where a maximum speed is specified by a road sign or road marking, the specified speed, not the legal speed limit, is the maximum speed for cars.”

The National Police Agency page has no list of which roads in Ehime are covered. According to the explanation on the National Police Agency page, on a road where no speed is specified by a sign, the limit is 60 km/h if there is a center line or a vehicle lane, and 30 km/h if there is no center line or similar.

What we could not confirm

• The issue date of the “Iyo no Hayamagari” flyer
• Which article of the Road Traffic Act the Ehime Prefectural Police and Ehime Prefecture link to “Iyo no Hayamagari” (neither the flyer nor the guideline gives an article number)
• The outline page of the Reiwa 8 “Traffic Safety Prefectural Residents’ Campaign Implementation Outline,” and the Reiwa 8 Intersection Manners Up Campaign guideline
• The Reiwa 8 guideline for lights at dusk (it is in the Prefectural Police’s “Ehime Traffic Information”)
• An official announcement from the Prefectural Police on the number of intersection enforcement actions or the enforcement period
• The intersections where accidents happened, within the Traffic Accident Map

About this page

We obtained and read the materials on the Ehime Prefectural Police site and the Ehime Prefecture site on October 13, 2026. The text on the flyers includes text we read from images. The Road Traffic Act is the text of the version in force from July 21, 2026 on e-Gov Law Search. We did not use local newspapers or unofficial explanations. Laws and campaign contents can change. When you actually drive, follow the signs and traffic lights on site and the instructions of police officers.