Carmakers in Japan, where nearly 30% of the population is 65 or older, are taking the lead in modifying cars to make the country ‘s forces of older drivers feel more confident – and being safer – behind the wheel.
A series of accidents in which seniors are behind the wheel have increased pressure from regulators on advanced features. Automatic brakes will be required for all new vehicles sold at home from this year, for example, and companies from Toyota Motor Corp. to Nissan Motor Co. using smart technology to make cars easier for older people.
It is also becoming more of a priority in the wake of the disappearance of public railways in rural areas, exacerbated by the loneliness crisis that has just triggered a coronavirus pandemic. With no way to get around, older people in Japan are increasingly confined to their homes, their lives declining as transportation options evolve.
A recent notorious fatal accident has brought attention to the issue. In February last year, Japanese prosecutors charged 89-year-old Kozo Iizuka on a charge of negligence that caused death and injury following an accident in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo. The former high bureaucrat was on his way to a French restaurant with his wife in April 2019 when his Toyota Prius plowed through a crossroads, killing a baby and her mother and harming several others.
The accident made headlines, mainly due to the high status of Iizuka. Public sentiment quickly turned against Iizuka, who is back in court this week after pleading not guilty in October. The event also sparked a national debate about the high levels of elderly drivers on Japanese roads. After the event, the number of seniors choosing to park their wheels is on the rise. According to the National Police Agency, 350,428 people 75 or older returned their driving licenses in 2019, the highest number on record.
“Young people tell seniors to return our driver’s licenses, but they’re not around,” said Hideaki Fukushima, 90, whose wife returned her license around the time of the crash. The couple’s children live in Nagoya, a two-hour drive away. In Takamori where they live, a small town in the middle of the mountainous region of Japan, trains operated by Central Japan Railway Co. do not operate. but once an hour. “You can’t do anything without a car,” Fukushima says.
Last year, Toyota updated its Safety Sense offer. The technology is designed to prevent or mitigate frontal crashes as well as keep drivers within their range. Using high-resolution cameras on the windscreen and knob-mounted radars, it can detect oncoming cars or pedestrians – or even bicycles in daylight hours – and issue alerts. which is audible and visual. If drivers do not respond, automatic braking can be used. The new software also has functionality to help detect obstacles that come up if a car turns away from a stationery area.
Other features of Toyota Safety Sense include unobstructed surface movement correction, automatic lifting between high and low traffic at night depending on the surrounding traffic, and detection of slower-moving cars on high road and preset speed automatic maintenance. Road sign support technology detects stop and speed signs as they pass and displays a dashboard warning in case drivers lose themselves.
“A society in which older people can drive safely is vital to their active social participation and healthier and more fulfilling lives,” Toyota said. “Our ultimate goal, of course, is to avoid getting injured from traffic accidents. ”
The aspirations of Subaru Corp. like; it wants to eliminate all fatal crashes by 2030. Like many other manufacturers, it uses stereo cameras, which have two or more lenses with a separate image sensor for each, enabling three-image imaging take a side. Dubbed EyeSight, the technology looks ahead and warns drivers of any danger. Subaru says vehicles with Eyesight equipment are involved in 61% fewer crashes and 85% fewer rear-end crashes. Pedestrian-related injuries are reduced by 35%.
“It would be impossible to eliminate all fatal crashes without the use of artificial intelligence,” says Earu’s Eiji Shibata, who is in charge of EyeSight development. To reach its ambitious target, Subaru plans to combine its stereo cameras with AI, assigning meaning to each object and trying to properly detect danger.
That is not without its challenges, according to Shibata. “It’s a technically difficult field,” he says. Stereo cameras are more difficult to install in large cars, partly because they carry more information than other sensors and require more complex rear-end support. “Equipping the technology in cars that people normally use is a lot of work.”
Updated EyeSight X using autonomous technology cut down in August in the second generation of the Subaru Levorg. The model, which was sold in Japan in November, has a 360-degree sensor and, like Toyota’s advanced technology, has an interlocking support function that can automatically steer cars away from an accident to come. Using EyeSight X, vehicles can even change routes on their own and slow down for toll booths.
There is a similar Nissan offering called ProPilot which it expects to have in at least 20 models in 20 markets worldwide by the end of 2023.
Takuya Matsunaga, who lost his wife and child in the 2019 crash, admits it is a good start but says dealers, when selling cars, should weigh put on these unsafe technologies. “Anyone can cause an accident,” he says.
Matsunaga has become a member of Aino Kai, a support group for families who have lost people from traffic accidents. Aino Kai is also playing a lobbying role, urging government officials to expand public transport networks in regional centers.
“I don’t want to see regions like the young and old hate each other,” Matsunaga says. “We need to think about the people who are suffering: the elderly in rural areas. ”