Over-75s caused twice as many traffic fatalities as younger drivers in 2018: gov't report

All that ever gets talked about is the age problems, what never is discussed is ways to improve public transportation to remove the need to actually drive for many of these seniors!

Far too many live in out of the way places, where a car is a necessity for living!

One thing is to make public transportation free for ALL seniors, not just one's who turn in their licenses.

aged 75 or older caused 8.2 fatal accidents per 100,000 licensed road users

aged 16 to 19 caused the highest number of fatal accidents at 11.1 per 100,000 licensed road users

According to their data, looks as though aged 16 to 19 has the highest number. Perhaps they should be looking at raising the driving age to 20.

There needs to be a mandatory cut off of driving age, like they do with commercial pilots.

@since1981

The driving age in Japan is 18. So I would guess most of those fatal accidents were caused by people who have no car license but are driving like, mopeds when they're 16 so it's not surprising that that is the highest.

This is a misleading and incorrect headline. I read the article twice and it is the youngest drivers who caused the most fatal accidents at nearly three times the other demographics. Obviously, being able to ride a scooter from 16 years old is a dangerous mistake resulting in many deaths.

This hardly comes as a shock. Just ban people from driving over 75. It's their problem if they can't find transport

Self-driving buses or chauffeur services should be promoted.

Also, to everyone, keep your head up. I try to pay more attention at crossings these days.

Old people like children, so they tend to look at them while driving -- which means that they are not looking

at anything else.

Be careful out there. We can only expect this trend to increase for the next 7 years.

Just ban people from driving over 75. It's their problem if they can't find transport

No , it is our problem. That is, it is a social problem. Public transportation is great in urban areas. It is not great in rural areas. The sad thing is that as the rural population declines, public transportation also declines: services are cut back or eliminated. Meaning people have to drive whether they like it or not.

Among accidents caused by rental car drivers in 2018, 158 were caused by foreigners, up 2.3-fold from 2014, while the number of overseas visitors who used rental car services in Japan also increased about 8-fold from 2011 to around 1.4 million in 2017, according to the paper.

So, I know that this article was mainly about the accident rate of elderly drivers vs. younger drivers, but....

The above caught my attention.

So....

Accidents by foreigners driving rental cars were up 2.3 fold....

BUT, the number of foreigners driving rental car was up 8 fold!!!

Which means....

Ta da......

The accident rate for foreigners actually went down!!!

Right????

But we can't say that now, can we?!

Wonder if there has been any tampering of the numbers to illustrate what they want us to believe, just like the medical universities tampering with the female entrance test results.

Yes, you have uncovered the Illuminati conspiracy to take away old people’s drivers licenses...

When I was young I thought there were us, the young, and then those of middle age, and finally a third generation, i.e. the elderly.

Now I see that we are one body that simply grows older. The spirit inside stays forever young.

We need to look after everyone, for that day comes around soon enough for all of us (if we do not get taken out for some reason).

I have however noticed that every driver I meet is being more careful now. This mass media exposure does seem to be having a salutary effect on everyone sensible behind the wheel.

And the authorities, while not being rushed into hasty decisions, appear to be taking the situation seriously by suggesting for example making anti-collision automatic braking mandatory for the elderly when purchasing a new car. Personally I think that this should include the young, e.g. for the first five years of any new license too.

Does anyone know what the fatal traffic accidents rate is for people in their 20s?

Farmboy.

So, TWO LIVES have to be taken befoee someome loses their license? Okay, two of your family members can be removed from this earth during fatal accidents. Then the driver will lose their license, and walk away free. Sound good?

Does anyone know what the fatal traffic accidents rate is for people in their 20s?

not that it matters, since younger drivers will have to drive to gain experience and they can improve with experience. elderly driving skills will continue to decline with age, while I don't agree there should be an outright ban there should be yearly testing to ensure they have the skills to keep driving.