It has been three weeks since the arrival of the 青切符 (aokippu, blue ticket) system. Have you been stopped by the police yet? (Let’s hope not!)?

The new system hopes to simplify the process by which police deal with 交通違反 (kōtsū ihan, traffic violations). Due to the limited availability of 自転車専用レーン (jitensha senyō rēn, dedicated bicycle lanes) in Japan, the new rules have sparked a heated debate — as well as a few cases of scammers hoping to take advantage of uninformed cyclists.??

Currently, police deploy what are officially known as 交通反則告知書 (kōtsū hansoku kokuchisho, traffic violation notices) to those who break the law. These include 青切符, which are issued for relatively minor traffic offenses, such as 信号無視 (shingō mushi, running a red light) and 一時不停止 (ichiji futeishi, failure to stop at a stop sign).

16歳以上の自転車運転者は、青切符が交付されたら反則金を支払わなくてはいけません (Jūroku-sai ijō no jitensha untensha wa, aokippu ga kōfu saretara hansokukin o shiharawanakutewa ikemasen, Cyclists aged 16 and older must pay a fine if they are issued a blue ticket).

More dangerous offenses, such as 飲酒運転 (inshu unten, driving while intoxicated) and 妨害運転 (bōgai unten, reckless driving), will continue to receive 赤切符 (akakippu, red tickets) for both cyclists and motorists.?

Whenever we talk about laws, there’s one grammatical structure that is bound to come up: ～なければいけません (~nakereba ikemasen), which conveys the idea of “must” or “have to.” The component is attached to the negative stem of a verb, as in 自転車は車道の左側を走らなければいけません (Jitensha wa shadō no hidarigawa o hashiranakereba ikemasen, Cyclists must travel on the left side of a road).?

A slightly more casual form of the structure is ～なければいけない (~nakereba ikenai), as in 一時停止の標識がある交差点では止まらなければいけない (Ichiji teishi no hyōshiki ga aru kōsaten dewa tomaranakereba ikenai, A full stop is required at any intersection marked with a stop sign).

Whether to use the ?ません (~masen) or ?ない (~nai) structure depends on who you’re speaking to. In addition to those, there is another version that is used more in formal writing: ～なければならない (~nakereba naranai). You might see it used when reading about laws rather than hearing instructions, as in 反則金はに納付しなければならない (Hansokukin wa gensoku nanoka inai ni nōfu shinakereba naranai, The fine is generally required to be paid within seven days).

In 日常会話 (nichijō kaiwa, everyday conversation), the verb ending is shortened even further as ～なきゃいけない (~nakya ikenai), as in 早く寝なきゃいけない (hayaku nenakya ikenai, [I] have to go to bed early), and shortened further still as simply ～なきゃ (~nakya), as in, 宿題しなきゃ (shukudai shinakya, [I] gotta do homework).

Meanwhile, new 青切符 traffic rules prohibit ながらスマホ (nagara sumaho, smartphone use while) cycling, which may result in a ?12,000 反則金 (hansokukin, fine). Also, 傘差し運転 (kasa-sashi unten, cycling while holding an umbrella) is subject to a ?5,000 fine.