Auto accidents in the oldest nation in the world are leading to changes by car manufacturers

Photographer: Kyodo / AP Photo

Automakers in Japan, where nearly 30% of the population is 65 or older, are at the forefront of modifying cars so that the country’s legions of older drivers can to feel more confident – and safer – behind the wheel.

A series of accidents involving older people behind the wheel has increased pressure from regulators to standardize advanced features. For example, automatic brakes are required on all new vehicles sold domestically starting this year, and Toyota Motor Corp. businesses. to Nissan Motor Co. apply smart technology to make cars more user-friendly for the elderly.

It is also becoming a priority as public railways in rural areas are disappearing, exacerbating an isolation crisis that was made worse by the coronavirus pandemic. With no means of getting around, the elderly in Japan are increasingly locked in their homes, and their lives shrink as transportation options evaporate.

A recent high-profile fatal accident brought the problem to the fore. Last February, Japanese prosecutors 89-year-old Kozo Iizuka charged on negligence charges resulting in death and injury after a crash in Tokyo Ikebukuro district. The former senior bureaucrat was on his way to a French restaurant with his wife in April 2019 when his Toyota Prius plowed through a cross, killing a toddler and her mother and damaging several others.

The accident made headlines, not least because of Iizuka’s high government position. Public sentiment quickly turned against Iizuka, who is back in court this week after pleading innocent in October. The incident also sparked a national debate about the growing number of older drivers on Japanese roads. After the event, the number of elderly people who chose to park their wheels for good rose. According to the National Police Agency, 350,428 people aged 75 or older returned their driver’s license in 2019, the highest ever.

“Young people are telling us seniors should turn in our driver’s licenses, but they’re not there,” said Hideaki Fukushima, 90, whose wife turned in her own driver’s license around the time of the accident. The couple’s children live in Nagoya, a two-hour drive away. In Takamori where they live, a small town in the central mountain region of Japan, trains run by Central Japan Railway Co. only comes once an hour. “There’s nothing you can do without a car,” says Fukushima.

Last year, Toyota has its Safety Sense offer. The technology is designed to prevent or mitigate frontal collisions and keep drivers in their lane. Using high-resolution cameras on the windshield and bumper-mounted radars, it can detect oncoming traffic or pedestrians – or even bikes in daylight – and provide audible and visual warnings. If the drivers do not respond, the brakes can be applied automatically. The new software also has intersection functionality to detect oncoming obstacles when a car is turning from a stop.

Other Toyota Safety Sense features include the lane departure correction, automatic switching between high and low beam at night depending on the surrounding traffic, and the detection of slower cars on a highway and automatic maintenance of a preset distance. Road-sign Assistance technology detects stop and speed signs when they are passed and displays a dashboard warning in case drivers have missed them themselves.

“A society in which older people can drive safely is crucial for their active social participation and a healthier, fuller life,” said Toyota. “Our ultimate goal is of course not to make any road traffic victims.”

Subaru Corp.’s ambitions are comparable; it aims to eliminate all fatal accidents by 2030. Like several other car manufacturers, it uses stereo cameras, which have two or more lenses with a separate image sensor for each, allowing three-dimensional images to be captured. Dubbed EyeSight, the technology looks ahead and warns drivers of any danger. Subaru says Eyesight-equipped vehicles cause 61% fewer crashes and 85% fewer rear-end crashes. Pedestrian injuries are reduced by 35%.

“It would be impossible to eliminate all fatalities without using artificial intelligence,” said Subaru’s Eiji Shibata, who oversees the development of EyeSight. To achieve its ambitious goal, Subaru plans to combine its stereo cameras with AI, assigning meaning to each object and trying to accurately deduce risk.

According to Shibata, this is not without its challenges. “It’s a technologically difficult area,” he says. Stereo cameras are more difficult to install in mass-produced cars, in part because they convey more information than other sensors and require more complex back-end support. “Equipping the technology in cars that people normally use is a daunting task.”