Toyota today said that The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games has decided to resume operations of the e-Palette mobility vehicle within the Athletes’ Village. Operations of mobility services were suspended at the Athletes’ Village last week when the e-Palette collided with a visually impaired pedestrian. China continues its lead medal count ( See photos from The Atlantic.
The pedestrian was a visually impaired person who was walking alone. When the pedestrian tried to cross the intersection, the individual met e-Palette passing through the intersection. When the vehicle was turning right, upon entering the intersection, it detected a person in the intersection and stopped.
Then, after the operator confirmed conditions were safe, the operator started the vehicle, moving again towards the intersection. The operator checked the situation around the intersection and manually started to decelerate. The vehicle’s sensor detected a pedestrian coming towards the intersection and activated the automatic brakes. The operator also applied the emergency brakes. However, a collision occurred with the vehicle and the pedestrian before the vehicle managed to come to a complete stop.
At the time of the collision, there were only two guide persons at the intersection. “Given that there were no traffic signals, and especially in a situation like the Paralympics where there are a diverse range of people, it was not possible for guide persons to check the movements of all pedestrians and vehicles moving in multiple directions. In addition, there was not a sufficient mechanism for coordination between guides and vehicle operators,” Toyota said in a statement.
“As a result, the pedestrian entering the intersection met the vehicle. Based on the thorough verification of these facts, Toyota, together with the Organizing Committee, has determined that ensuring safety at an intersection without signals is not something that can be handled by pedestrians, operators, or guides alone. It is necessary for all three parties to work together,” said Toyota.
The following measures are to be implemented:
Pedestrians
The Organizing Committee will reiterate the specifics of the walking environment in the Athletes’ Village and the rules for moving around in the Village at the Athletes’ Team Leaders’ Meeting and will do so at other opportunities.
The Vehicles
Toyota will increase the volume of the vehicles’ approach-warning sounds, improve system for manual driving, and educate operators to respond to the safety needs of the diverse range of people unique to the Paralympics. These include:
- Automatic driving – implement a change to manual acceleration/deceleration and stopping
- Increase the volume of the approach-warning sounds
- Increase the number of crew members
The Infrastructure Including Guides
Increasing the number of guides and enhancing the capacity. Specifically, for operations that appear to be the same as for the Olympic Games, guides should receive training to meet the diverse needs of pedestrians which are unique to the Paralympics.
- Establish a system that can work instead of traffic signals to safely guide vehicles and pedestrians.
- Increase the number of guides at intersections (from the current 6 to more than 20)
- Segregate guides into two groups, one specifically for vehicles and the other specifically for pedestrians.
After taking these measures, ensuring time for the training of on-site personnel, and conducting test runs, the Organizing Committee determined mobility operations to be resumed from 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 31, 2021.
Toyota said it will continue to make improvements daily, even after the resumption of operations, until the closing of the Athletes’ Village for the Paralympic Games and will continue to cooperate with the Organizing Committee to ensure the safety and security of the athletes and other people involved in the Village.
Toyota e-Palette Operating Again After Olympic Pedestrian Hit
Toyota today said that The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games has decided to resume operations of the e-Palette mobility vehicle within the Athletes’ Village. Operations of mobility services were suspended at the Athletes’ Village last week when the e-Palette collided with a visually impaired pedestrian. China continues its lead medal count ( See photos from The Atlantic.
The pedestrian was a visually impaired person who was walking alone. When the pedestrian tried to cross the intersection, the individual met e-Palette passing through the intersection. When the vehicle was turning right, upon entering the intersection, it detected a person in the intersection and stopped.
Then, after the operator confirmed conditions were safe, the operator started the vehicle, moving again towards the intersection. The operator checked the situation around the intersection and manually started to decelerate. The vehicle’s sensor detected a pedestrian coming towards the intersection and activated the automatic brakes. The operator also applied the emergency brakes. However, a collision occurred with the vehicle and the pedestrian before the vehicle managed to come to a complete stop.
At the time of the collision, there were only two guide persons at the intersection. “Given that there were no traffic signals, and especially in a situation like the Paralympics where there are a diverse range of people, it was not possible for guide persons to check the movements of all pedestrians and vehicles moving in multiple directions. In addition, there was not a sufficient mechanism for coordination between guides and vehicle operators,” Toyota said in a statement.
“As a result, the pedestrian entering the intersection met the vehicle. Based on the thorough verification of these facts, Toyota, together with the Organizing Committee, has determined that ensuring safety at an intersection without signals is not something that can be handled by pedestrians, operators, or guides alone. It is necessary for all three parties to work together,” said Toyota.
The following measures are to be implemented:
Pedestrians
The Organizing Committee will reiterate the specifics of the walking environment in the Athletes’ Village and the rules for moving around in the Village at the Athletes’ Team Leaders’ Meeting and will do so at other opportunities.
The Vehicles
Toyota will increase the volume of the vehicles’ approach-warning sounds, improve system for manual driving, and educate operators to respond to the safety needs of the diverse range of people unique to the Paralympics. These include:
The Infrastructure Including Guides
Increasing the number of guides and enhancing the capacity. Specifically, for operations that appear to be the same as for the Olympic Games, guides should receive training to meet the diverse needs of pedestrians which are unique to the Paralympics.
After taking these measures, ensuring time for the training of on-site personnel, and conducting test runs, the Organizing Committee determined mobility operations to be resumed from 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 31, 2021.
Toyota said it will continue to make improvements daily, even after the resumption of operations, until the closing of the Athletes’ Village for the Paralympic Games and will continue to cooperate with the Organizing Committee to ensure the safety and security of the athletes and other people involved in the Village.