Apr

Japan Bribing Seniors Off the Road

Posted by Published in Car Buying

And you thought Florida was not good.

Japan has one of the most rapidly aging populations of any country in the developed world, and one way that has affected the Japanese is on the road. While traffic accidents have fallen 20% in the past six years, Japan has seen a 35% balloon in accidents involving drivers by the age of 70.

What’s a country to do?

Crain’s News Service recently reported that Japan has decided to try to lure seniors into parting with their driver’s licenses voluntarily by offering the nation’s elderly assured incentives. The government has recruited several dozen businesses to offer rewards to seniors, including discounts at restaurants and

hotels, domestic delivery from an upscale area store, and reduced interest rates at a local bank. Even a 10% reduction at Dominos’s Pizza can be theirs ??? all they have to do is hand by that license.

On the other hand, the elderly are the one population segment in Japan that’s still growing. Watch for automakers’ sales to suffer whether that trend catches on. What do you think? Is it appropriate for a city or state to bribe seniors into relinquishing their primary means of transportation?

Original post by Stephen Markley