There is a new road-safety in central Japan to encourage drivers to stop driving. A company that operates 89 funeral homes is offering a 15 per cent on funeral services to any driver over the of 75 who surrenders their driving licence. The discount also applies to family of those relinquishing their licence. The scheme has the backing of the local police . Drivers must visit a police station to hand in their licence. Police officers then provide a , which the elderly person hands to the funeral home as that they are no longer allowed to drive. Similar schemes in Japan have included cut-price taxi , discounts on entry to public baths and cheaper noodles.
The latest is a further to reduce the of traffic accidents involving , which is becoming a serious problem in Japan. There are almost 5 million licence in Japan over the age of 75. This is double the number from a ago. In that same period, there has been an increase in the number of collisions involving elderly drivers. Drivers aged 75 or older accounted for 13.2 per cent of fatal traffic in central Japan's Aichi Prefecture last year. This is up from 7.7 per cent in 2007. Aichi police say of those accidents involved seniors confusing the and brake pedals or mistakenly putting the vehicle into reverse.
