Reconsidering Road Traffic Safety Countermeasures in a Super-Aged Society

At the beginning of 2023, there was inspiring news for the people working in the fields relating to traffic safety in Japan. The number of fatalities in 2022 caused by traffic accidents in 24 hours was 2,610, meaning 2.1 per 100,000 population. This number made a new record of the lowest number, continuing in the recent six years since the statistics were completed in 1948. However, 1471 fatalities, 56.4 % of all, are older adults being 65+ years old. As Japan is the most aged society in the world, it is clear the most crucial target will still be the older adults. In this paper, to make the roads safer, the countermeasures, which may differ from those in the other countries now but are good examples to be refereed in the other countries in the coming days, are discussed.