Ch. 1 · Common Conduct

On the road surface in front of places such as police stations and fire stations, there is an area enclosed by a white border with white diagonal lines inside. What does this marking indicate?

[Multiple choice · Easy]

Answer: B: A stopping-prohibited area

Explanation

An area with white diagonal lines inside a white border is the regulatory marking for a "stopping-prohibited area" (Appendix 3(2), No. 8). The Rules of the Road describe it as an area that vehicles and streetcars must not enter when traffic is congested and they might end up stopped inside it if they kept going.

Driving school curriculumStage 1 – Topic 2: Following traffic signals

Hikari
Hikari
White diagonal lines in a white box… is that where motorcycles wait?
Yui
Yui
Nope! It's a stopping-prohibited area. You'll see those stripes in front of places like police and fire stations.
Hikari
Hikari
Oh, so even if there's congestion, I can't stop there?
Yui
Yui
Right! If traffic's backed up and you'd end up stopped inside it, don't enter it at all.

Source: Ch. 1 Common Conduct · Section (第2節 信号) · Rules of the Road, Ch.1 §2 / 3(2) Regulatory markings prohibit or designate specific traffic behaviors — examples include no-parking markings and bus-lane-only markings. Types and meanings are listed in Appendix 3(2).

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Source content excerpted from the NPA “Rules of the Road” instructional manual, in the public domain under Japanese Copyright Act Article 13(2). Explanations are AI-assisted and copyrighted by the MenkyoQuest editorial team.