Japan will require technology to prevent unintended acceleration in new cars sold in the country, according to a statement from the transport ministry. Kyodo News.
Japan hopes the new rule will reduce traffic accidents, often caused by elderly drivers, in line with new UN regulations expected to take effect in June next year.
“Japan proposes that this be an international standard from 2022,” Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito said at a news conference in late June.
We are preparing for new regulations and working to improve vehicle safety.
he added.
The technology is capable of stopping the car or slowing it down to a speed of less than 8 km/h if a collision is unavoidable if the driver is fully on the accelerator and is 1-1.5 meters away from a larger object. When the technology is activated, according to the ministry, the in-car screen will also display a warning such as: “Get off the accelerator!”
The agency will revise its regulations after the U.N. regulations are formally adopted in November 2024, which require the technology to be installed first in new automatic transmission models before being expanded to existing models. In Japan, most new cars are already equipped with similar technology, and some automakers sell products that can be retrofitted to existing cars.
Manual transmission cars are exempt from the new rule, as the ministry says they are less likely to cause accidents caused by pressing the wrong pedal.
In 2023, 3,110 traffic accidents occurred in Japan due to drivers misusing the accelerator pedal as the brake, with 38 people killed and 4,343 injured in these accidents.
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