## 3 Ensuring Safe Driving

## Augmentation for Better and More Effective Measures for Elderly Drivers

Seminars for the elderly required for elderly people above the age of 70 carry out: practical examinations by getting students to actually drive a vehicle, and testing that utilizes driving aptitude test devices. The aim is to make students self-aware of their own physical changes and giving advice and guidance based on these results. People who take this seminar will not need to attend the seminar when renewing their license. In 2009, senior citizens who attended the seminar added up to 1,833,885.

Furthermore, for seminars at the time of during license renewal, an elderly class was organized targeting people between the ages of 65 and 70, and efforts were made to carry out courses that covered the characteristics of elderly drivers and their traffic accidents.

## Augmentation of Guidance and Supervision of Road Transport Operators

In order to ensure the implementation of laws applicable to the Labor Standards Act and to strengthen traffic management, information is released regarding points of concern in the thorough auditing and supervision of new emerging operators and operators with a history of major accidents. There is also information released regarding the implementation of auditing and supervision based on a combination of authorities concerned with vehicle transport operators, as well as the implementation of combined auditing and supervision and its enhancement.

Furthermore, in order to reduce accidents, strengthen subsequent check functions, and improve the safety of transport by commercial vehicles, amendments were made to vehicle transportation business audit policies and administrative disposition standards. The operators who have been reported as violating minimum wage by the related governmental agencies, and those who caused wheel loss accidents as a result of vehicle fire incidents or breaking wheel bolts are added to the list of targets for the audit, the punishment criteria for drunk driving and failure to subscribe to social insurance was strengthened, and the punishment criteria for the violation of minimum wage was established.

## Augmentation of the Transport Safety Management System

Based on the “Transport Safety Management System” introduced in October 2006, a safety management system was established by the operators which was taken action by management executives to on-the-site workers as a whole. The country carried out the evaluation for transport safety management to 386 companies by the end of December 2009 to confirm the status of implementation.

## 4 Ensuring Vehicle Safety

## Promotion of Vehicle Safety Measures

In order to facilitate the creation, advancement and dissemination of advanced safety vehicles (ASV) that uses progressive technology to support driving safety, the 4th phase of the advanced safety vehicle (ASV) project was initiated from 2006. With the collaboration of academic, business, and government circles, the initiative for the practical realization of genuine dissemination of ASV technology utilized up to now and communication-based safety driving support systems is being implemented.

In order to prevent accidents resulting from incomplete check and maintenance, such as wheel loss of large-sized vehicle and bus catching fire, the government has continued to conduct intensive checks of large-sized vehicles, newly put into operation in 2007, in September, October, and November including "Promotional Campaign for Motor Vehicle Check and Maintenance" month and has informed about the cautionary items in the check and maintenance of large-sized vehicles such as trucks and buses.

In 2004 the government responded to the need to detect cover-ups and other illicit practices being made by automakers through initiating measures to prevent the recurrence of fraudulent recall-related activities by bolstering the various systems in combating unfavorable information gathering, auditing of defective vehicle-related businesses, and technical inspections, and steadily implemented measures in prevent any recurrence in 2009.

Also, to raise the awareness of automobile users about malfunctions and to prompt the proper use and maintenance of automobiles as well as the taking of appropriate actions for the occurrence of malfunctions, since June 2009 MLIT has started to publish information on accidents and fires caused by malfunctions that automobile manufacturers report to MLIT.