TOKYO, March 25 (Xinhua) -- An elderly couple died after crashing their car with a dump truck less than 50 km from the center of Tokyo, raising safety concerns about older drivers, local police reported on Monday.

At around 2:25 p.m. local time on Monday, a passenger car and a dump truck collided head-on on a street in Akiruno, a western city of the Tokyo metropolitan area.

The 78-year-old driver of the passenger car, the manager of a nursing home in the city, and his 74-year-old wife who was in the passenger seat, were both unconscious when they were transported to the hospital, and were later confirmed dead, local media reports showed, citing the Metropolitan Police Department's Itsukaichi Station.

According to the police, the accident took place on a road with one lane in each direction and a gentle curve with good visibility. The passenger car was reported to have veered into the oncoming lane and collided with the dump truck. The male driver of the dump truck, aged 47, called emergency services.

The police are investigating the details of the incident.

In online comment sections of local news, hundreds of Japanese netizens expressed their concerns over the danger of elderly individuals driving on the road. Some suggested that driving safety depends not only on age but also on individual cognitive abilities and driving skills, with advanced age potentially leading to cognitive issues.

As Japan grapples with the challenges of its rapidly aging population, the safety of elderly drivers has raised concerns. Official data showed that in 2022, the number of deadly traffic accidents caused by drivers aged 75 or over in the Asian country rose to 379. Enditem

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