Japan’s government prepares for autonomous driving in early 2020s

The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry of Japan is about to introduce a study panel to carry out in-depth discussions concerning a vehicle autopilot driving system. The system, which is aimed to be realised in the early 2020s, will apply to self-steering vehicles that feature their own navigation capability. The government intends to build special expressway lanes for such self-driving cars. After entering the designated lanes, the autonomous vehicle can take over the driving task entirely
July 2, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSJapan's 6070 Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is about to introduce a study panel to carry out in-depth discussions concerning a vehicle autopilot driving system. The system, which is aimed to be realised in the early 2020s, will apply to self-steering vehicles that feature their own navigation capability. The government intends to build special expressway lanes for such self-driving cars. After entering the designated lanes, the autonomous vehicle can take over the driving task entirely, heading to destinations selected by the driver.

The planned autopilot system is expected to contribute significantly to provide numerous important benefits including alleviating drivers' fatigue, preventing road accidents and easing traffic congestion. It would also enable the elderly, who sometimes have difficulty making quick judgments and keeping attentive while driving, to use expressways safely, according to the ministry.

The system will be for vehicles referred to as self-driving cars capable of sensing their environment and navigating by themselves, with people not required to perform any mechanical operation besides choosing their destinations.
Location Based Systems

Related Content

  • The red light camera choice: 60 killed or save US$231 million a year
    June 5, 2015
    David Crawford investigates new cost-benefit analysis of red light cameras. US states can now realistically calculate the economic benefits of using red light safety cameras, alone or in combination with other measures, to cut road traffic accident levels. The results could be of material value in making the case for the cameras as a number of state legislatures continue to debate their acceptability.
    Read More
  • MaaS is at the ‘baby steps’ stage – but needs to get up and running soon
    April 16, 2018
    Data sharing between organisations remains a potential problem for Mobility as a Service projects, attendees at February's MaaS Market conference in London were told. Alan Dron listens in on the presentations.
    Read More
  • The effectiveness of roads policing
    March 6, 2015
    The Joint Roads Policing Unit of Thames Valley Police and Hampshire Constabulary in the UK commissioned the Transport Research laboratory (TRL) to evaluate the effectiveness of their roads policing strategy in terms of reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured in road collisions. The focus was on the fatal four causes of collisions: speeding, drink-driving, not wearing a seat belt and drivers using mobile phones. TRL carried out a detailed literature review, in-depth review and analysis of
    Read More
  • Positive incentives an alternative to road user charging?
    February 1, 2012
    The Netherlands has been looking at incentivising rush-hour avoidance. The intention is to better understand road users' motivations and find alternatives to congestion charging. Something significant needs to happen if we are to adequately address the traffic congestion and other issues caused by the ever-rising numbers of vehicles on our roads. Congestion or distance-based charging is seen as one way of managing demand and raising revenue for improvements to transport infrastructure. However, charging is
    Read More

Highlighted Content