On 12 September 2021, a taxi went on a pavement, killing a pedestrian and the taxi driver in Chiyoda ward, Tokyo. When I heard this news, I could not help but think, “uncontrolled car accident again?” In Japan, there have been a lot of traffic accidents caused by reckless driving in recent years.
To combat car accidents, the government has made it mandatory for people aged 70 to 74 to take lectures for elderly (高齢者講習), and for people over 75 to take both the lecture for elderly and the cognitive impairment screening test (認知機能検査) when renewing driver’s license. However, the elderly are asked only simple questions such as, “what year is it now?” and “do you remember the drawing you saw earlier?” which is a problem. This test could only tell if this test taker has dementia or not. My grandmother said she was asked no questions to check her ability to judge and act quickly, which are mandatory when driving. I believe these tests should be reviewed once again and improved.
There is one more thing everyone can and should do. If you think you cannot drive like you used to do, think about revoking your driving license. Or, if there are people that seem risky to drive, we should tell them to consider revoking their licenses. We can support them by giving them a lift or recommending them to take public transport. However, we need to keep in mind that nothing is more important than protecting pedestrians. This way, we can protect people around us and ourselves.