Comments on: No fines for elderly who drive without autumn leaf sticker

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:43:46 +0000

You can pick them up at your local DIY/Hardware store, or even at some 100 yen shops. (Also the shoshin-sha beginners marks, too)

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:52:37 +0000

saw one of these on a car on the last day of my brief (~9 days) recent trip to Japan. wouldn’t have known what it was if I hadn’t seen this post just a few days prior.

anyone know if it’s possible to buy one of these stickers to put on a car in the States? (just for laughs)

By: The Overthinker

The Overthinker — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:03:48 +0000

Frankly if your driving is bad enough that we need to be warned you are a bad driver you shouldn’t be on the road in the first place.

By: ErikaAoi

ErikaAoi — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 01:35:56 +0000

If I were elderly would be afraid of advertising myself as an easy target. Japan is quite safe but no place is free of crime. The elderly are already more vulnerable to crime, and advertising the owner of the car is elderly just makes them easier to find.

By: Alex

Alex — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 04:01:25 +0000

As a driver in Japan, I like the 高齢者マーク for elderly drivers, as well as the 初心者マーク. Let’s be honest – Both groups don’t perform very well, and I like to have an advanced notice to take caution.

I’m fine with them changing the design. It could be a diamond-encrusted sakura bloom for all I care, just as long as I know what to look out for.

By: George

George — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:57:47 +0000

I don’t think it’s the symbol so much as what it symbolizes, as James points out. “Death and decay” may put too fine a point on it, but no matter how you look at it, the fact that they have to brand their cars as if to say “watch out for me; I may be a bad driver!” is going to be insulting.

I don’t think redesigning the symbol (which is already pretty damn abstract and doesn’t, to me, seem inherently insulting) will have much effect on that fundamental aspect of the program.