Toyota Motor Corporation has unveiled an emergency safety system that uses big data to ignore the accelerator if it determines the driver steps on the pedal unintentionally.
Toyota will roll out what it calls an “accelerator suppression function” in new cars from this summer, beginning in Japan.
The system is a response to an increasingly common cause of traffic accident in ageing Japan where the driver, often elderly, mistakes the accelerator for the brake.
Some 15% of fatal accidents on Japanese roads in 2018 were caused by drivers who were 75 years or older, showed a report from the government, which actively encourages elderly drivers to give up their licenses.
Toyota’s announcement comes as automakers globally invest heavily in active safety features as they work to develop fully autonomous cars.
