It may sound quite bizarre, Japan is asking its senior citizens to give up driving and in return, they are being offered discounts in their funerals. In a bid to prevent accidents caused by ageing motorists, aged people are being encouraged to give up driving. There has been a rise in the incidents of fatal accidents involving elderly drivers.
In order to prevent the accidents, Japan has introduced a new rule under which drivers aged 75 or older must pass driving tests when renewing their licences.
A funeral service company in central Japan, Aichi Prefecture has started offering a 15 per cent discount to elderly drivers who give up their licences. The discount applies not just when the drivers who give up their licences die but also when their close family members die. The elderly drivers can save a minimum of 56,000 yen (USD700).
Japan has a population which is growing old fast and approximately 4.8 million people aged 75 or more have a licence.
Earlier in November 2016, a six-year-old boy died and 11 others were injured after an 87-year-old driver’s truck rammed children walking to school in Yokohama, Tokyo.
Police in Aichi also started offering a ramen noodle discount to elderly drivers who give up their licences.
