東京・関東以外のドライバーのみなさん、クルマで都内関東あたりを走るとき、当然「首都高」を利用しますよね。その時もしカーナビが付いていなかったりしたらお手上げですよね。わたしもカーナビが登場する前までは、記憶ではあんまり都内をクルマで走った経験がないと思います。東京に住んでいた当時、いまから54〜45年前ころにはそもそもカーナビがなかったはずなので、たまに運転する機会があったとしても、事前にルートを確認して、エイヤっと慎重に運転していたのだと思います。もちろん、現代とは首都高自体も比較的単線的で、わかりやすかったような記憶がある。
　それとクルマだけで長距離移動するという、最近のわたしのような移動手段選択はしていなかったと思う。東京から札幌に生活拠点を変えて以来、上京機会はたいへん多く毎年２−３回程度は行っていたけれど、あんまりクルマ移動は多くありませんでした。14-5年前くらいから比較的にレンタカーや自家用車（一時期社用車を賃貸住宅周辺の駐車場に常置させていた）でのクルマ移動を経験してきている。とくに一時期は関東地域への営業活動も行っていたし、取材などでも多く出張・長期滞在などしてきた。
　いきおい首都高は当然利用するけれど、あの複雑な路線を脳内にブックマークすることはまず不可能。必然的にカーナビに依存しての運転となっています。まぁ、カーナビはふだんの北海道内移動でもほぼ必需なので、現代生活ではクルマ運転そのものと一体化していますよね。
　で、首都高もそういうふうに便利に使わせていただいていた。
　・・・なんですが、その日常化していた首都高利用でも、はじめて「信号機」に遭遇してしまったのです。事前に「交差点」みたいな注意喚起があって「え、なに、おい」と思っていたら、ついにごらんのような信号待ち状況に。ただただ驚いてばかりだったのですが、時間待ち停車がかなり長かったので、ケータイで撮影。また下の写真はyoutube動画番組からの首都高「交差点」ワンショット。

　たしか関越方向から「美女木」JC周辺箇所ではないかと記憶しています。今回５月末のドライブツアーでのワンシーン。まぁ首都高の路線が拡張につぐ拡張で、それらを「つなげる」という必要性も加速度がついてきて、とうとうこういう信号機交差点というものが出現したのでしょう。でっかいどう、北海道の人間からすると目が点になるような気分がしておりました。要安全運転。首都高、すごい交通状況ですね。

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[Traffic volume increasing on the “Metropolitan Expressway” – traffic lights on the expressway] Traffic jams on the “Metropolitan Expressway” make you hit the brakes and even stop at traffic lights. The etranse of driving in an unusual situation is the only choice to depend on a car navigation system. …….

Drivers outside of Tokyo and the Kanto region naturally use the Metropolitan Expressway when driving around Tokyo and the Kanto region. If you don’t have a car navigation system, you’re in deep trouble. Before the advent of car navigation systems, I don’t think I had much experience driving in Tokyo from what I remember. When I lived in Tokyo 54-45 years ago, there were no car navigation systems, so even if I had the occasional opportunity to drive, I would have checked the route beforehand and drove very carefully. Of course, I remember that the Metropolitan Expressway itself was relatively single-track and easy to understand compared to today.
　I don’t think I had the same transportation choices as I do nowadays, traveling long distances only by car. Since I moved to Sapporo from Tokyo, I have had many opportunities to visit Tokyo, about 2-3 times a year, but I did not travel much by car. 14-5 years ago, I started to experience car travel by rental car or private car (for a while I kept my company car in a parking lot around my rental house). I have experienced car travel by rental cars and private cars (for a while I kept a company car in the parking lot around the rental house) since 14-5 years ago. In particular, for a period of time, I was engaged in sales activities in the Kanto region, and I also made many business trips and extended stays for interviews and other purposes.
　Naturally, I use the Metropolitan Expressway, but it is impossible for me to bookmark those complicated routes in my brain. Inevitably, I have to rely on the car navigation system. Well, since a car navigation system is almost a necessity for everyday travel in Hokkaido, it has become an integral part of driving itself in modern life.
　So, the Metropolitan Expressway was also used conveniently in this way.
　However, I encountered a traffic light for the first time on the Metropolitan Expressway, which had become a part of my daily routine. I had been warned in advance that there was an intersection, and I thought, “What the heck? I was just amazed, but the wait was quite long, so I took this photo with my cell phone. The photo below is a one-shot of the Metropolitan Expressway “intersection” from a youtube video program.

　I remember that this is the area around “Mimegi” JC from the Kan-etsu direction. This is a scene from a driving tour at the end of May. Well, with the continuous expansion of the Metropolitan Expressway, the need to “connect” them has been accelerating, and this kind of traffic light intersection must have finally appeared. As a person from Hokkaido, I felt as if my eyes were dazzled. Driving safety is a must. The traffic situation on the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway is amazing.

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Posted on 6月 2nd, 2025 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 出張＆旅先にて