「前方で妨害」に厳罰　自動車運転処罰、衆院通過

　「危険運転致死傷」の構成要件を拡大する自動車運転処罰法改正案が２８日の衆院本会議で全会一致で可決され、参院に送付された。「あおり運転」が社会問題化している状況を踏まえ、車の走行を妨害する目的で前方に割り込むなどして死傷事故を起こす行為を厳しく罰する。今国会で成立する見通し。
　現行法で定める危険運転でも幅寄せや割り込みを禁じている。ただ、加害者側が「重大な交通の危険を生じさせる速度」を出していることが必要なため、車の前方で止まる行為は罰せられない。
　改正案は、高速道路を走行中の車への幅寄せなどに加え、前方に停車して車を停止・徐行させる行為を禁止。一般道でも、被害者が一定以上の速度を出していた場合、同様の行為を禁じる。（2020/05/28-13:30）

Japan's House of Representatives passed on Thursday a bill to crack down on forms of road rage currently not covered by a law on punishments for dangerous driving.
   The bill was approved unanimously at a plenary meeting of the lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament, and was sent to the House of Councillors, the upper chamber. The legislation is expected to be enacted during the ongoing Diet session.
   A provision in the current law prohibits cutting in on or approaching other vehicles for the purpose of blocking them. However, the clause applies only if the vehicle is driven at a high speed that could pose a serious danger to the traffic, meaning that the act of stopping vehicles in front of others to force them to stop or drive slowly is not covered under the law.
   The bill seeks to do away with the speed requirement for the act on expressways. For general roads, the act will be punishable if the victim is moving above a certain speed.
   Road rage became a major social issue in Japan, following a fatal accident in 2017 in which a married couple were stopped by a reckless driver on the Tomei Expressway in Kanagawa Prefecture, eastern Japan, and died after being rear-ended by a truck.