Topic IV: Initiatives Aimed at Traffic Safety for the Elderly(1) Situation of Traffic Accidents Involving
the Elderly
The number of elderly fatalities in traffic
accidents in 2014 was 2,193, which accounts
for more than half of overall fatalities intraffic accidents. The number of elderly
fatalities
brokendown
byaccident
circumstances suggests that nearly half of allelderly fatalities occurred while walking. In
addition, traffic accident fatalities and injuries
broken down by age group and by severity ofinjury suggests that the elderly account for
13.5% of the slightly injured persons, 34.9%of the seriously injured persons and 53.3% of
the fatalities. Thus, the percentage of theelderly increases as the extent of injury
becomes severe.

(2)

Measures

toPreventcooperating with related agencies and otherorganizations to implement measures such asindividual guidance through home visits andenlightenment activities at facilities such as
hospitals and care centers, and also to promote
safety education in which the elderly can learn
through participation, hands-on experienceand practice by actively using walking
simulators, cycling simulators and otherequipment. Looking at the statistics of elderly
fatalities in 2014 by time-zone, the fatalities
of elderly pedestrians tend to be higher thanthose of non-elderly pedestrians particularly
between the hours of 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm. In
light of this, the police are conducting safety
activities to protect and guide the elderly at
twilight, and to encourage them to wear brightclothes for visibility, in addition to promoting
the widespread use of items that incorporate
reflective materials.

Accidents

Chart IV-1 Casualties broken down by age group (component rate) (2014)

Fatalities
2.0%(4,113 people)

Seriously injured(41,658 people)

Slightly injured(669,716 people)

8.2%

3.5%

6.4%

6.3%

12.4%

≤ age 1516 ≤ age ≤ 24
14.7%

6.9%

0%

10%

9.3%

4.9%

10.0%

9.6%

25 ≤ age ≤ 29
9.3%

20%

7.3%

12.3%

53.3%

12.0%

Age in 30's
18.8%

30%

40%

Involving Elderly Pedestrians and Elderly
Cyclists
Of the elderly fatalities in 2014, about 60%
occurred while walking or riding a bicycle andabout 80% of the elderly in that 60% did nothave a driver’s license. Accordingly, with theaim of providing opportunities for traffic
safety education to be given to the elderly who
are not licensed to drive, the police are- 31 -

50%

60 ≤ age ≤ 64
7.7%

Age 65 ≤34.9%

Age in 40's

Age in 50's

18.5%

12.4%

60%

70%

5.9%

80%

13.5%

90%

100%

The police are working to ensure the safetyof elderly pedestrians and cyclists bypromoting safety measures on community
roads such as the establishment of 30km/hr.
zones, installing barrier-free traffic lights, anddeveloping dedicated cycling spaces incooperation with road administrators. Also,
measuresincludingincreasing
theluminance and size of road signs, converting
traffic lights to LEDs, launching theexclusive parking zone system for elderly
and other drivers10, the development of atraffic environment where elderly drivers
can drive safely and securely is promoted. In
addition, considering the growing importanceof public transportation as a means of mobility
for the elderly, the police are enhancing
cooperation with other agencies andTraffic safety instruction given to the elderly
through home visits(3) Ensuring the Safety of the Elderly by
Improving the Traffic Environment

Chart IV-2 Elderly pedestrian fatalities broken down by time of day (2014)(People)140
Elderly (people)

Others

122

120

112
98

100

76

80

60

50

53

34

40
22

20

Midnight

2 a.m.

4 a.m.

6 a.m.

8 a.m.

10 a.m.

Noon

6-8 a.m.

8-10 a.m.

10 a.m.Noon

Noon2 p.m.

77

80

80

87

37

20

11

19

M idnight 2 a.m.

2-4 a.m.

4-6 a.m.

Elderly(people)

44

27

Other
thanelderly(people)6555

2 p.m

2115

200

27

4 p.m. 5 p.m. 6 p.m. 7 p.m. 8.p.m.

10 p.m.

2-4 p.m.

4-6 p.m.

6-8 p.m.

8-10 p.m.

10 p.m. midnight

4557

175

210

126

55

1,063

15173549

55

57

435

Total

Note: The numbers of fatalities are timed per hour in the graph and two hours in the table.

10: Under this system, specific drivers such as the elderly,
handicapped persons and pregnant women driving
ordinary vehicles that display a certain emblem issued by
Prefectural Public Safety Commissions (PPSC) areallowed to park or stop at spaces designated by roadsigns.

- 32 -organizations
towardenergizing
revitalizing local public transportation.

and(4) The Enhancement of Measures for
Elderly Drivers
Drivers who are 70 years old or older as ofthe date their license expires are required totake a training course for the elderly when
they renew their license. The course provides
lectures related to safe driving, practicalguidance to ensure the safe driving of
automobiles and other vehicles and guidance
based on the results of a test using a driving
aptitude testing apparatus 11 , through which
participants are helped to become aware of thechanges in their physical abilities and are
given concrete instruction for safe driving
based on the test results. In 2014, 2,298,006
persons took this course.
Also, drivers who will be turning 75 years
old or older before their license is to expire
are required to take a pre-training course test
(a cognitive functioning test) up to 6 months
before their license is due to be renewed. This
test is aimed at having elderly drivers becomeaware of the status of their memory andjudgment and at supporting them incontinuing to drive safely. After the test, atraining course is provided based on the test
results. In 2014, 1,438,040 elderly persons
took the pre-training course test (cognitivefunctioning test).

In-vehicle instruction in the training course forthe elderly

Column: Amendment of the Road Traffic
Act as a Measure for the Prevention ofTraffic Accidents Involving Elderly Drivers
The trend of numbers of traffic accidents
and fatal traffic accidents caused by drivers
aged 75 or over has been increasing. Since
the number of licensed drivers aged 75 orover has been increasing in step withdemographic aging, the number of traffic
accidents caused by elderly drivers isexpected to further increase. Accordingly,
with the aim of addressing the urgent issue
of promoting measures for preventing
traffic accidents involving elderly drivers,
the Act on the Partial Amendment of theRoad Traffic Act was enacted at the 189th
Diet session in June 2015. The Act
addresses the following:
1 the introduction of an extra cognitive
functioning test for drivers aged 75 orover who have committed certain traffic
violations
2 the introduction of an extra training
course for the elderly whose cognitive
function is judged to have declined
enough to affect their ability to drive
automobiles and other vehicles, based on
the results of an extra cognitive
functioning test
3 the review of the system to make itpossible to order those who are judged tohave the potential to suffer dementia by acognitive functioning test to take a special
aptitude test (diagnosis by a specializeddoctor) or to submit a medical certificate
prepared by a doctor regardless of theirhistory of violations.

11 : This apparatus consists of a dynamic visual acuity
testing instrument, a night-time vision testing instrument
and a visual field testing instrument. It is designed to
examine the speed and accuracy of responses to visual
stimuli.

- 33 -

those for drivers aged 75 and over whose
cognitive function is judged to havepotential for having declined or suffering
dementia by a cognitive functioning test
will be improved.

In conjunction with this amendment, thetraining courses for drivers aged 70 to 74
and for drivers aged 75 and over whose
cognitive function is judged not to havedeclined based on the results of a cognitive
functioning test will be rationalized, while

Chart IV-3 New measures for elderly drivers- 34 -