The new alert is made possible by advances in map updating and position sensing technology.
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) will add a wrong-way driving alert function to its onboard navigation systems that gives on-screen and voice warnings to drivers going the wrong way.
Wrong-way alert monitors vehicle direction on highways and toll roads, including at tollgates, service area ramps, turn-offs and junctions.
In what appears to be a global first, the wrong-way driving alert will be incorporated into navigation systems available as dealer-installed options in Japan beginning in June.
In theory there is no reason why Japan’s largest automaker could not expand the use of wrong-way driving alert to the U.S. and other large markets, where Toyota is struggling with a damaged safety reputation from stuck gas pedals and unintended acceleration recalls.
The new alert – developed with Aisin and Denso – is made possible by advances in map updating technology and in precise position recognition technology that uses information from GPS, gyro, vehicle speed and other sensors to determine accurate vehicle movement.
In recent years in Japan, approximately 1,000 wrong-way driving incidents are reported annually, with a higher percentage of senior drivers involved than in other kinds of traffic incidents, according to Toyota.
