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Comment by dfxm12 | Hacker News Reader

In the wake of a slew of fatal accidents involving elderly drivers, the government plans to create a new driver’s license system that limits senior citizens to cars with safety features such as automatic brakes.

This seems like a feel good story for the papers and a way to further penalize drivers who don't have the proper car for their license, but I wonder how this works in practice to actually prevent accidents, given the parameters of what's being reported. On your 75th birthday, do they repossess your current car and make you buy a new one?

Otherwise, there are still going to be a lot of dangerous autos on the road.

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I could purchase a semi truck today and drive it despite the fact i'm not licensed. I don't see how it's any different - the thing stopping people from driving vehicles that they don't have the license for is that it is illegal and you can be punished.

Repossession doesn't come into the equation - the same way I can buy a truck, they can buy/own a car that they aren't allowed to drive. It makes sense that they would sell it and buy one they are licensed to drive, but nobody's making them if they want to sit in it and make car noises while not moving.

It will probably work, thanks to some Japan-specific quirks: every two years, cars are subject to a "tax and inspection" fee that can run up to $1500, which causes a lot of people to just buy a new car instead when it comes around. Also, Japanese tax law encourages frequently buying company cars and letting employees use them as their main vehicle, in lieu of additional salary. So Japan already gets old cars off the road very quickly.

(Note: I don't think this is a great system, and it's pretty obviously a hidden subsidy for the Japanese auto industry, but it does have the helpful side effect of ensuring that almost all cars on the road in Japan are fairly new and have the newest features)

Seems to have worked great for the Japanese auto industry: they focussed on resale value (aka: long term reliability).

I bet it might have something to do with the fact that there is a way way bigger car market outside of Japan, thus making the focus on long-term reliability perfectly logical in terms of maximizing sales.

Specifically, most Japanese used cars are exported abroad, since the inspection criteria are quite stringent when it comes to condition and features. So the cars are basically broken in by Japanese drivers, and then live the rest of their lives in Indonesia or China.

Or in Western Europe. I imported two top of the line cars for a very low fee in the past from Japan. Both had super low mileage and were a fraction of what I'd pay for the same vehicles here. The websites typically look super sketchy but they're legit, you may have to twiddle headlights and other details to get it to pass inspection locally.

Important to check if there have been recalls that have not been applied to the car you are interested in and to make sure that you have a good idea of the tax and registration fees in your intended country of destination before pulling the trigger.

Luxury European cars (MB, BMW, Audi) in Japan are typically LHD so no problem there, but beware of buying Japanese vehicles there, there is a good chance they are RHD.

> Note: I don't think this is a great system, and it's pretty obviously a hidden subsidy for the Japanese auto industry, but it does have the helpful side effect of ensuring that almost all cars on the road in Japan are fairly new and have the newest features

I dunno, I live in a province in Canada with no auto industry. We have an inspection every two years, license plate renewals every two years, mandatory insurance at all times. The costs end up being almost identical (I've owned a car in both places). The people I know who have had issues are mostly due to emissions and lack of maintenance - failing to fix a rusted out exhaust line, alignment out, rusted out body, etc. My car in Japan was 16 years old and passed with the minimum fees.

I do know lots of people in Japan who replaced their car just because it got a bit old, but it wasn't because it didn't pass inspection. It was because they thought it wouldn't pass.

In Japan it gets expensive to keep a car for more than about 10 years so people are used to buying a new one more frequently.

Is there some kind of exemption for cabs and work trucks? I was just there, and I did notice that I didn't see many older cars (maybe a few "collectibles"), but many cabs were definitely over 10yo, and also some work vehicles looked pretty old too.

Currently neighbours can and do call the cops on elderly people that keep their license but are clearly not able to drive anymore.

The outcome is usually the elderly voluntarily returning their license under severe social pressure, or getting their license next renewal refused (it's to be done every few years).

As Japan's population is aging more and more, it's a pretty serious issue in the media, also repossession is not needed, just voiding the driving license at 75 if they don't prove they changed cars will do.

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