Toyota will fit its onboard navigation systems with a new function to give on-screen and voice alerts to drivers traveling against the flow of traffic as dealer-installed options from June 1. The voice alert will tell drivers, “You may be traveling against the flow of traffic. Please check your direction of travel”, while the on-screen instruction will tell them, Warning! Wrong Way! The function was made possible by advances in communications-based map-updating technology and in pinpoint position-recognition technology that uses information from global positioning system and gyro and other sensors to determine accurate vehicle movement.
The new navigation system monitors vehicle direction on highways and selected toll roads, including all tollgates, service area ramps, exits and junctions. Approximately 1,000 wrong-way driving incidents are reported annually in Japan in recent years, with a higher percentage of senior drivers involved than in other kinds of traffic accidents, it added.