Japan to make driving tests harder for some older motorists

Tokyo: Japan will make driving tests harder for some older motorists to curb the number of accidents caused by elderly people mistaking the accelerator for the brake, police said on Thursday.

Deadly traffic accidents caused by drivers over 75 are on the rise in Japan despite a general downward trend, reflecting the increasing proportion of older people in the population.

Around 18 percent of fatal accidents last year were caused by drivers in that age group, according to the National Police Agency (NPA).

The agency said it would implement "necessary measures" in response to recommendations by an expert panel that some drivers be required to perform additional manoeuvres during their practical tests.

The new rules will affect motorists over 75 with a history of traffic violations, the NPA said, with local media reporting that the agency would bring them in next year.

The changes were needed partly because "there are many accidents caused by elderly drivers mistakenly stepping on the accelerator instead of the brake", the NPA said.

In addition to the five components currently in the test -- such as coming to a complete stop -- affected drivers will have to pass a "direction change" component to check that they can use the accelerator and brake pedal properly.

The plan follows the release of data showing the current mandatory skills test, introduced in 2022, does not go far enough in preventing accidents.

NPA figures show that drivers over 75 with prior traffic violations still cause more than twice the number of accidents than their peers with no such violations, even if the first group have passed the 2022 test.

In May, an 85-year-old man driving a shuttle bus in the central city of Nagoya hit and killed a man and woman in their 30s, according to local media reports.

In 2019, an 87-year-old man killed a three-year-old girl and her mother, and injured nine others, when he mistakenly stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake.