Chapter 8  Promotion of Safety Measures for Transport


8. 1 Guarantee of Traffic Safety



   To ensure traffic safety which is the foundation of transport administration, the Ministry of Transport has carried out various traffic safety measures for land, sea and air transport in accordance with the Traffic Safety Plan.
   1988 saw a sharp increase in the number of casualties caused by road traffic accidents. (Table 9) Other major disasters include a collision and fire accident on the Chugoku traversing motorway and the collision between the Daiichi Fuji-maru, a fishing and pleasure boat, and the submarine Nadashio. Taking these disasters into consideration, the Ministry of Transport has taken various measures for accident prevention.
   The Traffic Safety and Nuisance Research Institute has just published an interim report on hazards caused by sudden start or sudden acceleration of a vehicle with automatic transmission. While studying the possibility of structural defects of such cars, the Ministry has instructed the Japan Automobile Manufacturers' Association to study specific measures concerning the interim report's suggestion about electronic devices attached to such cars.
   As for air traffic safety, the Ministry has started to build an "Air Traffic Services System Center" (provisional name) to cope with the increasing volume of air transport.

 


8. 2 Guarantee of Safe Navigation in the Persian Gulf



   The Iran-Iraq dispute developed into a full-scale armed conflict in 1980, and 19 ships related to Japan were involved in firing incidents during the period from January, 1984 through August, 1988 when such incidents took place frequently.
   In addition to the safe navigation measures that had been taken till then, Japanese shipping operators in October, 1987 decided to start navigation in group to avoid being involved in such incidents.
   Since Iran and Iraq agreed to a cease-fire on August 20, 1988, remarkable progress has been made in the safe navigation of ships in the Persian Gulf.

 


8. 3 Conservation of Environment



   As for traffic-related public nuisances, such as air pollution by nitrogen oxides (NOx) and noise, the government has taken various steps to minimize such nuisances, including restrictions on the sources of noxious fumes and noise prevention measures in areas close to motorways, railways and airports, and will strengthen such measures in the future.
   As for the prevention of water pollution, restricitions on the discharge of oil and harmful liquids from ships have been strengthened. The government responded adequately to an international trend through such measures as tightening up rules of the discharge of wastes on December 31, 1988.



8. 4 Promotion of Disaster Prevention Measures


   As administrative organizations designated under the Basic Law for Disaster Prevention Measures, the Ministry of Transport, the Maritime Safety Agency and the Meteorological Agency each year formulate disaster prevention plans and undertake comprehensive and systematical such as projects as strengthening observation, prediction and forecasting systems for weather, earthquakes and volcanic activity; disaster prevention measures for transport facilities and traffic systems; Iand conservation measures, including the protection of coasts; and the reconstruction of disaster-stricken ports and harbors.

 


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