Analysis of court cases of vehicle collisions caused by elderly drivers: A study on the criminal responsibility of drivers and accompanying preventive measures

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  • BABA Mineko
    Center for Integrated Medical Research, Keio University School of Medicine
  • HITOSUGI Masahito
    Department of Legal Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science

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  • 高齢運転者の自動車事故刑事裁判例の検討による運転者の法的責任と予防策について

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In recent years, there have been sporadic incidents of vehicle collisions caused by the elderly. We studied 26 cases involving vehicle collisions caused by elderly drivers, subsequently looking into their criminal responsibility. The average age of the drivers was 76.0±7.4 years old. Seven drivers had health conditions such as dementia, epilepsy, diabetes, and heart disease among others. Eight cases were caused by the erroneous tread of a brake pedal and the accelerator pedal. Twenty drivers were prosecuted on a charge of negligent driving, and two were prosecuted on a charge of dangerous driving. Most of the traffic accidents caused by the negligence of the elderly drivers were exempted from prosecution in Japan. However, in the case of a driver who caused a fatal accident, he was charged with negligent driving for having failed to exercise due care, coupled with his malicious intent to violate the traffic laws. As for traffic accidents causing serious damage, the court judged that their violation of duty care was serious and malicious. Because of this, the drivers were handed prison terms. Even though old age or a long good driving record were considered in the determination of the appropriate punishment for the elderly drivers, these still did not extinguish their criminal responsibility for negligent driving. On the other hand, on the trial regarding dangerous driving, their old age was considered as an exempting circumstance. Revocation of the driver’s license was the punishment of an elderly person with dementia, not being able to avoid the collision. Learning from these cases, it is necessary to provide a support system which instills awareness in elderly drivers that their driving abilities are declining. They should not be overconfident about their own good driving records. Moreover, companies should be required to take further vehicular safety measures for their older employees in order to prevent these road mishaps.

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