Japan wants in-car safety system to warn for ‘ghost-driving’

Japan’s Ministry of Transport wants to introduce a new in-car system to tackle wrong-way driving on highways, targeting zero fatalities and injuries by 2029. As Japan faces an ever-increasing number of elderly drivers, authorities have called on Japan’s automotive and technology industries to create and implement new safety systems to prevent accidents caused by cars traveling in the wrong direction toward oncoming traffic.

The proposed system will use surveillance cameras to detect ‘ghost-driving’ and warn the driver via the car navigation system or smartphone. Nearby vehicles driving in the right direction will also receive an alert warning them of a wrong-way driver. The technology could combine in-car satellite navigation, smartphones, roadside systems, and CCTV to identify cars traveling in the wrong direction.

AI image processing

With over 15,000 cameras installed nationwide, covering the majority of highways, the ministry has deemed it feasible to detect wrong-way driving using artificial intelligence image processing. Once detected, the proposed system will warn the driver with a voice alert through his car navigation system or smartphone map apps commonly used by motorists.

Since data collection started in 2011, around 200 incidents of drivers headed in the wrong direction on highways have been recorded annually, with cases peaking at 259 in 2015.

Upward trend

Last year, 224 incidents were registered, eight of which resulted in injuries or fatalities. Approximately 80 percent, or 185 cases, were intercepted before an accident occurred. Japan’s aging population – and its proud culture of cars and driving – has meant severe road accidents by elderly drivers have been on the rise in recent years as a percentage of total fatalities.

Elderly drivers (65 years or older) accounted for 61.5% of ghost-driving accidents in 2023, up from an average of 50.4% between 2011 and 2022. The upward trend is likely to continue amid an aging population.