<From evaluation results of “Promotion of victim support including the appropriate damage compensation systems”> ○Evaluation case relating to the “Promotion of victim support including the appropriate damage compensation systems” [Evaluation] After the formulation of the Basic Plan for Crime Victims, etc as efforts are made to implement its measures, steady progress is visible including such as the realization of systems that are directly involved in the criminal case procedures of the victim participation system, etc. is visible. In addition, systems such as Automobile liability insurance systems continue to play a central role in victim relief.
<From evaluation results of “Augmentation of Research and Development and Study Activities”> ○Evaluation case relating to the “Augmentation of research and development and study activities” [Evaluation] An investigative study was carried out regarding support of safe driving, traffic behavior attributes of the elderly, and road traffic accident factors, etc.

## (2) Conclusion

When examining the number of traffic accident fatalities, in addition to achieving the goal of reducing the number of 24-hour fatalities to below 5,500 (and similarly reducing the number of fatalities within 30 days) in the third year of the program period, the effects from toughening severe punishments for drunk driving, improving the seatbelt user rate, and lowering the danger perceptual speed are conceivably large in terms of the reduction of the number of fatalities from 16.765 fatalities of so-called "traffic war" in 1970 to less than 1/3. Of course, not being limited to these results, the effects of a number of countermeasures such as the improvement of road traffic environment, dissemination and reinforcement of traffic safety messages, ensuring safe driving, ensuring vehicle safety, maintenance of road traffic order, and improvement of rescue and ambulance systems have also been demonstrated.

In addition, although the number of traffic accident injuries and fatalities has not necessarily been lowered by the seventh program period, the reduction is advancing in the Eighth Fundamental Traffic Safety Program period. The accomplishment of reaching the goal of "reducing the number of injuries and fatalities to below 1 million" in the third year of the eighth program period is noteworthy.

In this regard, it is conceivable that the effects from toughening severe punishments for drunk driving, improving road traffic environment though measures for danger areas, improving vehicle safety, improving the rate of seatbelt use, etc. have been contributory

environment though measures for danger areas, improving vehicle safety, improving the rate of seatbelt use, etc. have been contributory. At the same time, the number of fatalities in 30 days per population of 100 thousand people caused by traffic accidents in Japan was 4.7 (2008), which ranked in sixth place after Iceland, the Netherlands, England, Sweden, and Switzerland (among data for 29 countries including in the International Road Traffic Accident Database (IRTAD)). In terms of the goal of "making Japan the safest country in road traffic", the goal has not been achieved entirely; the importance of promoting further traffic safety measures in the future is considerable.

In particular, further promotion is considered important for traffic safety measures for the elderly, pedestrians and bicycle users because of the proportion of elderly persons comprising the number of traffic accident fatalities and the increase of accidents where elderly persons are central players, the high proportion of pedestrians (33.4% in 2008) comprising the number of traffic accident fatalities, and the increasing trend in the proportion of bicycle-related accidents (21.2% in 2008) that comprise the number of traffic accidents.