TOKYO, Aug 20 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Japan's transport ministry will introduce a new system to tackle wrong-way driving on expressways, aiming for zero fatalities and injuries by 2029 amid rising incidents involving elderly drivers, Kyodo news agency reported.
The proposed system will use surveillance cameras to detect wrong-way driving, warning the driver and nearby vehicles through their car navigation systems or smartphones.
A tender for companies to develop the system is set to launch in fiscal 2024, with the aim of early implementation at high-incident locations following a pilot run.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, surveillance cameras on expressways are primarily used for security and monitoring road conditions such as broken-down vehicles and fallen objects.
With over 15,000 cameras installed nationwide, covering the majority of expressways, the ministry has deemed it feasible to detect wrong-way driving using artificial intelligence image processing.
Once detected, the proposed system will warn the driver with a voice alert through their car navigation system or via smartphone map apps commonly used by motorists.
In an effort to prevent head-on collisions, nearby vehicles driving in the right direction will also receive an alert warning them of a wrong-way driver in the vicinity.
Expressway operators will oversee the public solicitation for project developers. The pilot run will identify the system's effectiveness and issues, with locations where wrong-way driving incidents have repeatedly occurred given priority in installation.
Around 200 incidents of drivers headed in the wrong direction on expressways have been recorded annually since data collection started in 2011, with cases peaking at 259 in 2015.
Last year, there were 224 incidents, eight of which resulted in injuries or fatalities. Approximately 80 percent, or 185 cases, were intercepted before an accident occurred.
Elderly drivers aged 65 years or older accounted for 61.5 per cent of wrong-way driving accidents in 2023, up from an average of 50.4 per cent between 2011 and 2022. The upward trend is likely to continue amid an aging population.
Measures taken by the ministry and expressway operators to date include installing warning signs, such as "No Entry," and road markings at exits and merging points.
In recent years, they have also displayed alerts on roadside electronic signs when vehicles headed in the wrong direction are detected by sensors or radar. However, these warnings apparently failed to reach the driver in some cases.
-- BERNAMA-KYODO
