## Safety Measures for Road Traffic

The traffic accident fatalities of 2013 decreased for 13 consecutive years and was 4,373 (0.9% decrease from the year before) but the percentage of the elderly traffic accident fatalities that are 65 years old and over exceeded 52% and 780,000 people suffer from injury or death caused by traffic accidents and the condition is still severe. For this reason, efforts will be made to further reduce traffic accidents and various measures will be implemented in coordination with the National Police Agency and others.

## (1) Promoting Efficient and Effective Traffic Accident Measures

Recent advances in road development and contemporary changes in the social

(Notes)1 Up until 1959, minor damage accidents (injuries lasting less than 8 days or less than 20,000 yen in property damage) are not included.

2 After 1966 property damage accidents are not included.

3 The cases prior to 1971 do not include fatalities and casualties of Okinawa Prefecture.

Source) Developed by MLIT from National Police Agency documents

landscape, there is a great need for a road environment in which pedestrians, bicyclists, and a diverse other users can safely and comfortably coexist. For arterial roads which account for roughly 70% of traffic accident fatalities, effective and efficient entire accident measures are being promoted through public participation and collaboration under the “Traffic Accident Zero Plan (strategy for concentrated relief of accident prone sections)” to implementing concentrated measures for areas categorized by high degree of accident risk.

In addition, it is necessary to pay special attention to those community roads on which the proportion of accident casualties involving pedestrians and bicyclists is particularly high. In such cases, it is essential to ensure the existing safe pedestrian spaces, to this and wide-ranging integrated traffic accident suppression measures are currently being promoted. These include a wide ranging speed regulation, narrowing roads, widening road shoulder, sidewalk development, speed limits, installation of physical devices to reduce vehicle speed.

## (2) Promoting Safety Measures for School-Commuting Roads

For school-commuting roads, following a series of accidents in April, 2012 involving groups of children commuting to schools, a “school route emergency joint inspection program” was implemented through coordination between schools, boards of education, police, and other stakeholders. Intensive support was implemented toward the measures based on the result above.

In addition, Japan has instituted school-commuting roads safety program in each municipality, these measures include regular joint inspection infrastructure improvement and others enhancement.

## (3) Safety Driving Support on Expressways Using the ITS Spot Service

The ITS Spot Service has been available on expressways across the country since August 2011. The service supports safety driving by calling attention to accident prone areas or falling objects as well as forewarning of snow and overtopping wave conditions through car navigation system among others.

## (4) Systematic Road Facilities Management to Provide Safe and Comfortable Road Services

On December 2, 2012, nine precious lives were lost when the Chuo Expressway Sasago Tunnel ceiling panel collapse accident occurred. At the “Research and Investigation Committee on the Tunnel Ceiling Collapse Accident” after the accident, the cause of the fall and preventative measures were compiled in the report on June 18, 2013.