If you drive in Japan, you will need to be more careful about where you park your car starting from today. For June 1 marks the start of Japan’s revised Road Traffic Law that turns the enforcement of parking laws to private companies authorized by the police.

Until today, you could illegally park with confidence that even if the police came across your vehicle you had about 30 minutes before they finally would start writing you a ticket. Now the subcontracted meter patrols can write a ticket immediately.

Though a crackdown on illegally parked vehicles may please residents and pedestrians in crowded areas of Tokyo, there is also the possibility that some drivers may not take too kindly to having their vehicles towed by non-police entities.

[Concerns over possible violence] have prompted Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. to offer new coverage specifically for parking patrollers starting Thursday.

The insurance plan covers cases such as injuries inflicted on the patrollers or drivers and vehicle damage.

The insurer pointed out in a statement there have been cases of assaults, threats and verbal abuse by drivers reported in London, where private companies handle parking enforcement, and similar cases are likely to occur in Japan.

Even those who do not drive probably will have their normal daily routines upset, since many of the vehicles that are guilty of illegal parking are trucks that deliver food, beverages, and other items to retailers and restaurants.

Of course, there is also the question of how long will it take before the first scandal involving the new system.