Improved road safety for Japan

Official figures from Japan reveal an improving situation with regard to road safety. According to data from the Japanese National Police Agency, traffic accident fatalities in 2012 fell 4.4% compared to the previous year. There were 4,411 deaths on Japan’s roads, the first time the annual road fatality rate has dropped below 4,500 since 1951. There has also been a noted drop in the numbers of fatalities related to people driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) at 252, the lowest this has been since 19
January 8, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Official figures from Japan reveal an improving situation with regard to road safety. According to data from the Japanese 2343 National Police Agency, traffic accident fatalities in 2012 fell 4.4% compared to the previous year. There were 4,411 deaths on Japan’s roads, the first time the annual road fatality rate has dropped below 4,500 since 1951. There has also been a noted drop in the numbers of fatalities related to people driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) at 252, the lowest this has been since 1990. The police attribute this to tougher enforcement and stricter laws relating to DUI offences. However, road accident deaths involving senior citizens aged 65 and more increased to 2,264 cases, so,e 51.3% of the total in 2012. Meanwhile, Aichi prefecture recorded the most fatal accident cases nationwide with 235 deaths, followed by 200 deaths each by Hokkaido and Saitama prefectures. On the other hand, Tottori and Tokushima prefectures reported the fewest number of road accident deaths with 30 and 32 cases respectively.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Japan’s road safety continues to improve
    January 7, 2015
    The latest official data from Japan’s National Police Agency reveals a continued drop in traffic fatalities for 2014. The fatality rate fell to 4,113 in 2014, a drop of 260 from the previous year. This improvement in road safety has been helped by a successful campaign to increase awareness over the use of seatbelts and also on the inherent risks of drink-driving, according to the authorities. Of the fatalities, 227 cases were as a result of drink-driving. A total of 2,193 people aged above 65 years old die
    Read More
  • Road safety improvements and challenges worldwide
    May 24, 2012
    Road safety is again hitting the headlines worldwide, with new data showing accident reductions being achieved as well as highlighting areas for improvement. Several European nations showed major safety improvements. In Spain, the Home Affairs Office has published encouraging information revealing that the number of fatalities from car accidents fell in 13 out of the country's 17 autonomous regions during 2010. La Rioja region reported a drop of 47%, the best improvement in Spain, while the regions of Astur
    Read More
  • Japan’s safer roads see casualties fall
    January 10, 2018
    Japan has seen its road safety levels improve significantly in 2017, compared with the previous year. Data compiled by Japan’s National Police Agency shows that there were 3,694 traffic fatalities in the country in 2017, a drop of 210 from the previous year. There were 1,171 pedestrian fatalities, a drop of 1% from the previous year. Meanwhile vehicle occupants accounted for 1,106 deaths and 436 cyclists were killed in crashes. According to the authorities, tougher enforcement of road traffic rules played
    Read More
  • Risk for elderly on Japanese roads
    January 7, 2016
    Japan’s National Police Agency has revealed that the country’s road death figures increased slightly in 2015 compared with 2014. Total road fatalities for Japan in 2015 stood at 4,117, an increase of 0.1% from the previous year. There were 536,789 crashes in Japan during 2015, which injured 665,126 people. Of particular concern is the data showing that traffic deaths for those aged 65 or over rose by 2.5% to 2,247 in all, a worrying 54.6% of the total road fatality figure. Official information has not so fa
    Read More

Highlighted Content