Skip to main content

Japanese road safety; addressing ageing drivers

The Japanese authorities are taking steps to ensure greater road safety for ageing drivers. This follows data showing that elderly drivers are involved ina worryingly high number of serious road crashes in Japan. And with the age demographic of the country increasing, the problem looks likely to grow unless addressed effectively. As a result, older drivers will be able to benefit from fixed charges for using taxis, in a bid to tempt them away from using their own cars. Older drivers may also face changes t
June 27, 2019 Read time: 1 min
The Japanese authorities are taking steps to ensure greater road safety for ageing drivers. This follows data showing that elderly drivers are involved ina  worryingly high number of serious road crashes in Japan. And with the age demographic of the country increasing, the problem looks likely to grow unless addressed effectively. As a result, older drivers will be able to benefit from fixed charges for using taxis, in a bid to tempt them away from using their own cars. Older drivers may also face changes to regulations, requiring them to drive only those vehicles equipped with the latest safety technology. This last issue will be decided by the Japanese Government in the second quarter of 2020. A requirement for all new vehicles to be fitted with automatic braking technology will also be reviewed at the same time.

Related Content

  • Malaysia’s road safety problem needs addressing
    February 2, 2017
    Malaysia’s road safety problem is a cause for concern. The country’s Transport Ministry has revealed data showing that in 2016, Malaysia figured amongst the countries with the highest rate of road fatalities. The figures show that for every 10,000 registered motor vehicles on Malaysia’s roads, there were 2.55 deaths. One new strategy intended to address the problem being launched by the Transport Ministry is the Malaysia-wide National Blue Ocean Strategy Road Safety Cluster. Meanwhile the Safe Kids Mala
  • UK’s road safety statistics
    October 3, 2022
    The UK’s road safety statistics for 2021 have been released.
  • Safer roads and vehicles with new European standard
    January 11, 2019
    New EU rules covering road infrastructure safety and minimum vehicle safety have been given approval in the European Parliament. The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) is now calling for the EU to reach a final deal on both pieces of legislation. The European Parliament’s Transport committee voted to approve an update to rules governing road infrastructure safety management. The existing requirements ensure governments carry out regular road safety audits, identify high-risk sites and prioritise s
  • TISPOL 2017: Europe’s road safety record suffers as austerity bites hard
    December 21, 2017
    Police budgets are being slashed, staff numbers are falling and Europe’s long-term trend towards ever-fewer road deaths has ground to a halt. Does Europe’s road network face a far more dangerous future? Geoff Hadwick reports from TISPOL 2017 in Manchester, UK. Europe’s road safety record is under threat. Lower and lower funding levels have become a very serious, and very worrying, problem for the EU’s traffic police bosses. They know that they must find new ways to focus road users on changing their beha