TRAFFIC WAR REVISITED:
Preventing Fatal Accidents a National Priority

JULY 23, 1996

Any death within 24 hours of an accident is classified as a traffic fatality in Japan. In many other countries, though, anyone who dies within 30 days is included in the count. If Japan were to use this definition, the postwar traffic death toll would be in excess of 600,000.

Annual traffic casualities first topped 10,000 in 1959. This figure rose with the growing use of motor vehicles, peaking at 16,765 in 1970 and leading to what was then described as a "traffic war." National and local governments began establishing facilities to promote traffic safety, and a nationwide accident-prevention campaign was launched. Fatalities declined as a result, and in 1979 the death tally was nearly halved to 8,466.

But fatalities began climbing again at the end of the 1980s, topping 10,000 in 1989, when 10,344 lives were lost. The number of road deaths continued growing until 1995, exceeding 10,000 for eight straight years. The situation is now being described as a "second traffic war."

Latest Culprit: Mobile Phones
Increases in the number of traffic casualities have reflected trends in society. In the 1960s and 1970s a jump in the number of young motorcycle riders led to the higher death toll. The sudden increase in fatalities at the end of the 1980s was largely due to a rise in nighttime accidents; lifestyle changes increased the number of people staying out late at night. Over the past several years, an increasingly older population has led to more accidents involving the elderly, both as offenders and victims.

The rapid spread of mobile phones in the past year or two is now causing a spiraling number of accidents occurring while drivers are in mid-conversation. Many accidents are also caused by drivers absorbed in viewing the screens of car navigation systems, the use of which is spreading rapidly. Further studies may be needed, but there is an urgent need for action to prevent the use of these devices from causing many more accidents.

Cutting the Death Toll to Under 9,000
In this light, the National Police Agency has initiated a campaign calling on each town and village to prevent one death on the road. The goal is to keep the 1996 fatality total below 10,000. As a longer-term measure, the government has set up a five-year program starting in fiscal 1996 (April 1996 to March 1997) to promote traffic safety education for the aged and to place more speed traps to slow down drivers in residential areas. Manufacturers will also be called on to follow stricter passenger safety guidelines in building vehicles that will better protect riders in case of impact. With these measures the government is hoping to cut the annual traffic death toll to under 9,000 by the year 2000.