Gov't unveils measures to prevent car crashes caused by elderly drivers

Measures aren't good enough. Swift action is needed. Only banning all drivers aged 75 and over will curb this pandemic. How many more children have to die?

Measures aren't good enough. Swift action is needed. Only banning all drivers aged 75 and over will curb this pandemic. How many more children have to die?

Drivers 74 and under don't cause deaths?

How do you propose that individuals banned from driving are to get around? Is the government going to foot the bill?

We understand that many aged people has to go doctor, shopping etc.

But that does not mean we free them to face same result.

Govt. should do something immediately.

Vince, from today's news. Driver is 60 years old looks like we gotta ban 60 year old drivers and up!

https://japantoday.com/category/crime/car-hits-4-children-1-adult-in-machida-driver-arrested

Banning people because of their age is ridiculous - banning them on whether they are fit to drive is sensible. So many younger people cause accidents too.

These aren't "measures", they are proposals at best. Promoting safe cars isn't going to prevent accidents because people will turn them down. There have to be better tests, conducted yearly. If the elderly fail, it should not "optional" to give up their licenses.

Accidents happen.  Doing periodic tests for (say) over 60's is not practical and discriminates against the vast majority who are perfectly capable.  This whole mantra of "governments gotta do something" is silly.  And will - as usual - lead to overregulation and unintended consequences.

Tokyo will carry out an "emergency safety inspection" of school commuting routes by the end of September

That's 3 months later, in the meantime almost EVERY single day there is a car that hits children.

vehicle-free zones around schools,

What will the radius of that vehicle-free zone be? One street? A whole block? It sounds nice on paper but doesn't sound realistic or achievable. The daycare center in Otsu was located next to a heavily used street that seems near impossible to make vehicle-free.

how about stop giving them licenses?

definitely not good enough, blanket ban for anyone over 70 , imprisonment / fine / family fine if caught driving.

special circumstances allowance to drive ( rural areas where public transport not available enough ) limited to driving certain daily hours and monthly testing at expense of the driver.

full removal of over 70 taxi drivers too .

Red light cameras at crossings ( i dont understand what happened to those.. they were there before ) because now every single crossing has at least one or two speeders thru.. I see it every single crossing... and harsh punishment if caught driving red thru crossing ( license cancellation, vehicle forfeit and imprisonment if more than once )

Harsh punishment for any blinker / roadside parking with fines over 20man yen and possible court for endangering lives.

Cycling, anyone not keeping 1m distance, also same as above.

only then roads will start being safe

Another 60-something driver ran a red light, hit some pedestrians and then went into the ditch. "I mistook gas and brake pedals."

There is an easy way to stop mistakes on the accelerator pedal. Teach people to drive with 2 feet. Left foot for brake, right foot for accelerator. Once the brain learns this, it would be impossible to make a mistake.

@Alex EinzToday  05:53 pm JST

I think I will accept that some accidents happen as part of life instead of this.

One thing my town offers for elderly who give up their license is an ID that allows them ride the public bus unlimited and monthly train vouchers up to 6000yen per month I believe. I live in the burbs where a car is definitely needed to get anywhere.

It's not very little to do age and a lot to do with ATTENTION! Accidents are caused by drivers whose attention is  not on the road and other vehicles around them. I'm fed up with having to slam my brakes on because some silly (expletive) has parked on a blind corner on a road with a double yellow line. Those are usually young men and women.

Certainly, some old duffer who potters along at 20kph daydreaming of the highlights of his youth is very dangerous. Accidents are caused by drivers whose attention is elsewhere, young or old. It might be a better idea to test actual driving skills and ability to direct attention than simply memorising the highway code. Have compulsory driving test skills every five years, make oldies have them every year if it makes the "lawmakers" happy and remember that the vast majority of accidents are not caused by old people.

Wow, thanks. It will do nothing. Enough with these bs laws that suggest or recommend people follow some guidelines. If a law isn't going to lay out what you can't do, then what the hell is the point of it being a law?

These aren't "measures", they are proposals at best. Promoting safe cars isn't going to prevent accidents because people will turn them down. There have to be better tests, conducted yearly. If the elderly fail, it should not "optional" to give up their licenses.

My friend in the National Police Agency, and who works in the traffic division says that they are already getting ready to introduce this new license requirement. I believe most officers are going to probably be briefed on it at some point in the near future. So that one at least doesn't seem to be a proposal. It also seems to be the most logical solution to the issue.

Try to get past sensational headlines. Look at the stats.

If you want to get ageist then by far the most dangerous drivers are new drivers and young males aged under 25.

top of the list are new young male drivers. Let's ban them?

Blah Blah Blah. These measures do NOTHING. Only solution is to get them off the road!

Lets not be ageist OR sexist OR racist; driving has got to the stage where its better tested with the inclusion of a simulator like a pilot, a health test, again, like a pilot, and occasional drug&alcohol testing,as you get with an operator of potentially dangerous machinery.

By all means get car companies like Toyota on board, am sure they would love the challenge, it would appear its been too difficult for Tesla.

blanket ban for anyone over 70 , imprisonment / fine / family fine if caught driving.

special circumstances allowance to drive ( rural areas where public transport not available enough ) limited to driving certain daily hours and monthly testing at expense of the driver.

Wow. You really hate old people. What happened to make you that way? And how will you deal with it when you are old yourself?

...and vehicle-free zones around schools,...

I'd like to know what they have in mind for this. Our home is right across the street from an Elementary school. We are extra cautious exiting our drive way, probably more than most people since we continually have to watch for kids as they try balancing on the curb as they walk along side our fence in the blind spot from where we park. It would stink if they banned us from using our own parking space.

Wow. You really hate old people. What happened to make you that way? And how will you deal with it when you are old yourself?@

@Commanteer - I agree with your sentiments. Of course, many younger commentators are unable to properly distinguish between different types of old people.

A 70 year-old may have slightly slower reactions, but not yet so slow as to seriously impede driving ability. Over 75 is when people typically begin to deteriorate. However, I think it is reasonable to have driving tests from about 70+ to check drivers' ability.

Banning people because of their age is ridiculous - banning them on whether they are fit to drive is sensible. So many younger people cause accidents too.

@Luddite - but we ban people aged under 18 from driving - is that ridiculous too? Surely we should judge them on their ability to drive.

It isn't just older drivers - technology exists to eliminate these gas/brake errors. Google 'combined accelerator and brake pedal' - one pedal, pushed to the side for acceleration, and down for brake. These could be made mandatory for new 2020 vehicles, and retrofitted for all others at shakken - and even faster for elderly drivers.

'combined accelerator and brake pedal'

Sounds like an even more difficult pedal, requiring greater dexterity. Not good for arthritic drivers or those with weak muscles.

Teach them to pay attention, as mentioned above. Be aware of their surroundings. Use commentary driving as soon as they start.

@Alex

family fine? Are you serious? What age/country do you live in????

Miss Tiana Young: "Wow, thanks. It will do nothing. Enough with these bs laws that suggest or recommend people follow some guidelines. If a law isn't going to lay out what you can't do, then what the hell is the point of it being a law?"

Perfect response. This IS Japan!

Young people being crushed by the weight of the elderly, figuratively and literally.

when you ban people like some people above have suggested, you might be banning someone who is compos mentis and has good reactions, the best answer for this problem should start a few years before, say at the age of 50 Years old, and it should involve a test which includes eye sight, reaction times, a general health inspection and it should be over seen by a doctor. may be this test or check up should be held every 5 years, then the examiner/doctor can see if there is a deterioration in the drivers sight, reaction times, etc. IF it get to a stage where they can't meet the criteria then they should have there licence suspended or revoked, unless it can come back up to a set standard, this will filter out bad drivers at 50 let alown 60+ but it will allow senior people to drive, where fit.

It seems a lot of accidents by elderly people are caused by momentary confusion concerning the brake pedal versa the accelerator pedal. Since almost every car sold today has an automatic transmission and being ambidextrous, I use my left foot for the brake and right foot for the accelerator. I doubt i will ever hit the accelerator thinking I'm braking. I wonder if many others do the same?

 the best answer for this problem should start a few years before, say at the age of 50 Years old,

Are you joking? 50?

Perhaps 60, but 50 is absurd.

Well at least it's something. So sick of these old people killing others by refusing to stop driving.

This issue is the result of improper testing for license to operate a motor vehicle. But there also seems to be some confusion in the posts. Yes, young people do have accidents and some people will die. Sadly, this is an inevitable possibility that will always exist with operating a vehicle. Vehicles are dangerous and people are not perfect. There WILL be accidents. But this topic is specifically about reducing accidents caused by older people (not everyone) who may no longer be fit to drive. Other countries have implemented alternate testing for drivers after a certain age targeted at older driver's reaction, sight, and physical ability to operate the vehicle. I'm absolutely astonished that such a "rule obsessed" place like Japan has not considered this. If the test fails they cannot renew their license. Pretty dang simple. Also, if they have been diagnosed with a disease that may inhibit their ability to drive, ie. Dementia, then they are automatically no longer allowed to drive. Mental disability is a huge issue that plagues Japan, even if no one wants to admit it. Older people are especially susceptible to mental impairments.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/11/02/national/30000-elderly-drivers-japan-show-signs-dementia/#.XQl4Lx6RUwA

I've also seen people comment on how older people should get around after a certain age, and that the government should pay the bill. This is really just ignorance. If your too old to operate a vehicle in this society, then you should not. Period. It's a black an white situation. As for their transportation after, that's a separate issue, Why is the government liable? Are you saying that the government should ignore the threat as a whole for the single desires of a few old people? You understand this is a life threatening situation we are discussing, right? People are dying. I would say that trumps the convenience of being able to drive to the grocery store. Find other means.

Since I came to Japan long ago I've always noticed how the highways have speed detecting cameras and N Systems and H Systems everywhere, now Japan can make all kinds of excuses for this, like for example it cuts down on highway deaths, which is partially true, but only partially, and the N Systems spot criminals escaping the scene of their crimes. (Personal opinion is the cameras are for revenue and not traffic safety so much.)

Every now and again a child is murdered by a nut job in Japan or as recently promoted in the main Stream how bad older drivers are, almost seems like it's more political than anything else and makes the politicians look good promoting an idea of prevention, usually this prevention entails making a large percentage of the population mandatorily conforming to the States wishes, the State being Japanese in this case. ( Problem, reaction, in this case exacerbate the reaction with weekly PR this is always done in the US usually to intervene in a foreign powers country, and then their solution. The reaction part is the most interesting as usually only emotion is used on the masses. ) I submit that if the State really cared about the children or older people to begin with, they would have their H Systems and their N Systems all around the schools, and if they cared about older people they would stop taxing them to death on their retirement money, which forces them to get low paying jobs in order to not pay exorbitant taxes. Not even counting all the scammers trying to fleece the older folks within Japan, which makes one believe does Japan really care at all about the older folks or is it really just PR. In short when the State ( Japan in this case. ) says their protecting you, you can rest assured they have ulterior motives.

I'm just trying to give an alternate view here as the Main Stream keeps pushing this in the year 2019 most especially, and it seems strange, the fact is, Japan has the lowest death rate in all developed countries percentage wise in automobile deaths. Older drivers in Japan cause 15% of all fatal crashes in 2018, I believe that’s 75 and over, is that really so bad, those 70 and over make up 20% of the entire population. Again what I'm writing here is just an alternative to the Main Stream push, which in Japan's case you can bet this is coming from the government, it's their focus now. My figures are correct, but one can make correct figures mean anything they want to, example many people 70 and older give up their drivers license as they themselves know they cannot drive any longer. so drivers over 70 that still drive are actually low percentage wise, but if I didn't tell anybody that fact, well you can see how not saying something promotes what you do say as long as you do not tell all the facts.

It's getting kind of amazing that generally all over the so called free world the Main Stream pushes the same story with little opposing opinion, in this case I'm not really saying there is not a problem, I just find it strange that there is no opposing opinion hardly at all.

Japan already has implemented stricter drivers license requirements for older people, actually more than 5 years ago so it's not a new idea, now it's just making people comfortable with their not so new requirements so they can add more, because whatever it is, the State ( Japan in this case. ) always try's to add more and more and more, until the controls are in place completely. Again perhaps it is needed really, but I just find it strange as I said, that their is absolutely no opposing position and everybody in the land of Wa agrees by consensus on this, really now do they?

A persons foot has 4 movements when driving with any pedal configuration - push, lift, right, and left. If one cannot do any of these for medical reasons they shouldn’t be licensed for regular vehicles. The combined pedal solves the wrong movement accident cause.