Skip to main content

Continued improvement in Japan’s road safety

Improved road safety in Japan has been revealed, following the release of the latest official statistics. During 2016 there were 3,904 road deaths in Japan, a drop of 213 from the previous year. The data is significant as this is the lowest level of recorded road fatalities for 67 years and the first time in this period that road deaths have dropped below 4,000. The reasons for Japan’s improved road safety are thought to include better road design, safer vehicles and gains in traffic safety education measur
January 5, 2017 Read time: 1 min
Improved road safety in Japan has been revealed, following the release of the latest official statistics. During 2016 there were 3,904 road deaths in Japan, a drop of 213 from the previous year. The data is significant as this is the lowest level of recorded road fatalities for 67 years and the first time in this period that road deaths have dropped below 4,000. The reasons for Japan’s improved road safety are thought to include better road design, safer vehicles and gains in traffic safety education measures. The gains in road safety are expected to continue in future years and the target by the Japanese Government is to cut road deaths to 2,500/year or lower by 2020.

Related Content

  • Papua New Guinea mends its bridges
    February 28, 2022
    Under the latest tranche of the Sustainable Highlands Highway Investment Programme, 45 of the estimated 71 bridges will be completely replaced.
  • Low income countries account for only 3% of global road networks: a constraint for economic growth
    January 15, 2019
    An analysis of road network data from IRF World Road Statistics (WRS) reveals the low percentage of road networks in low income countries and underdeveloped regions of the world. These results link poor quality roads and lack of road infrastructure to constrained economic development and growth The IRF World Road Statistics (WRS) includes up-to-date data on the road and transport sector for over 200 countries and covers nine important road topics, one of which is road networks. An analysis of the road
  • Pan-European road safety and transport programme
    February 1, 2013
    A major programme that will boost road safety and transport efficiency is now being developed jointly in seven European cities. The authorities in Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Eindhoven-Helmond, Newcastle, Thessaloniki, Verona and Vigo have joined forces with the aim of improving road safety, increasing energy efficiency and reducing level of congestions for road transport. The city authorities will work along with industrial partners to jointly implement three cooperative services for forward collision warnings,
  • IAM says more action needed to cut UK road casualty numbers
    November 1, 2012
    IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) director Neil Greig said “much more” needed to be done to sustain an encouraging drop in the latest published quarterly road casualty statistics for the UK. The latest Department for Transport figures revealed 400 people were killed in road accidents in Britain between April-June 2012 – down 18% than the 487 killed over the same period of 2011. The total number of casualties was 47,880 between April-June 2012, a fall of 7% on the 51,580 in Q2 2011.