Toyota Motor Company Introduces New Pedestrian Traffic-safety Education Tool

Toyota City, Japan—Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announces that it has developed an educational tool, the "Kurapika Box", for use in its future traffic-safety activities aimed at increasing the use of reflective materials among pedestrians and bicycle riders to reduce nighttime accidents.  The box can be used to give simple, hands-on demonstrations of the effectiveness of using reflective materials and the way color affects nighttime visibility.

The box, which accurately recreates nighttime darkness and thus overcomes the limitations of past demonstration techniques such as using blackout curtains to create a darkened space, is lightweight, approximately 1.5 meters long and can be used indoors or outdoors.  Participants use commercially available lighted goggles to look at objects in the box that incorporate reflective material.  The light from the goggles makes the objects easily visible, thus giving participants a thorough understanding of the importance of using reflective materials to increase nighttime visibility.

In Japan, the number of traffic-accident fatalities declined in 2009 for the ninth consecutive year, falling below 4,000 for the first time in 57 years.  However, approximately half of the fatalities were senior citizens, with approximately half of those being pedestrians involved in accidents occurring mainly at night.  TMC has thus been engaged in an ongoing effort to help prevent traffic accidents involving older pedestrians through such activities as distributing leaflets during its annual Toyota Traffic Safety Campaign.

TMC will initially install boxes on a permanent basis at four facilities, where they will be used in traffic-safety education for senior citizens.  In addition, TMC will publicize the benefits of using reflective materials among all age groups at events held by TMC, dealers and affiliates.

TMC has reaffirmed its commitment to customer safety as its top priority, based on the view that realizing a society free of traffic casualties requires an integrated approach encompassing people, cars and the traffic environment.  Accordingly, this year TMC will again be actively implementing a variety of traffic-safety awareness activities.


Planned Permanent Installation Facilities

1. Toyota Driving School Tokyo (Tachikawa City, Tokyo): driving school directly managed by TMC
2. Chubu Nippon Driver School (Nagoya City, Aichi): driving school directly managed by TMC
	The boxes will be used in classes senior citizens must take for driver-license renewal and in courses for general students.
3. Toyota Safety Education Center "mobilitas" (Fuji Speedway, Shizuoka)
	The boxes will be permanently installed for use in prefectural courses (under contract from Shizuoka Prefecture) for senior citizens and for use by the general public.
4. Toyota City Traffic Safety Learning Center (Toyota City, Aichi)
	The boxes will be used for monthly events for the general public and some hands-on demonstrations.

Outline of "Kurapika Box" Traffic-safety Educational Tool

Materials Plastic corrugated board, fabric interior Dimensions

Width 430 mm Height 275 mm

Length 1500 mm

Weight Approx. 5 kg (body only)

Color Black Main accessories

Lighted goggles and various items with reflective materials