The International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences (IATSS) will hold an event on September 19, 2024, at Toranomon Hills Forum in Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan, to commemorate its 50th anniversary of foundation.
The IATSS was established on September 17, 1974, with an endowment from Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa, the co-founders of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda), to fulfil their desire to “contribute to the realisation of the ideal mobility society.”
In the 1970s, motorisation made rapid progress in Japan. While offering benefits to people’s daily lives, such rapid growth also caused problems such as traffic congestion, traffic pollution, and traffic collisions, with more than 10,000 fatalities annually in Japan.
In 1970, Honda became the first among manufacturers to establish a Driving Safety Promotion Centre, an internal division to promote traffic safety, which applied thoughts to traffic and safety issues from the perspective of everyone sharing the road and conducted various hands-on activities to promote traffic safety, including instructor training, safe driving/riding education and various safety awareness campaigns.
However, traffic collisions and many other traffic-related issues are caused by a complex interplay of human, mechanical and environmental factors. Therefore, there was a limit to what Honda could do alone.
From experience amassed through the Driving Safety Promotion Center activities, it became clear that new scientific research organically linking a wide range of expertise was necessary to solve traffic-related issues.
The IATSS was established to conduct unrestricted discussion and research on various challenges facing mobility, including traffic safety, and present results back to society. The IATTS comprises experts, critics, and journalists in different fields, including transportation engineering and other fields spanning the humanities and science disciplines.
It has also made progress in different research areas related to mobility. By communicating and sharing its research achievements with society, IATSS has been making significant contributions to solving multiple issues.
The IATSS has been conducting research and other hands-on activities in Japan and developing countries in Asia, which are experiencing severe traffic-related issues.
IATSS has been leading the way with a “co-creation” approach in its activities. This approach involves collaboration between IATSS and local organisations to develop solutions for traffic-related issues in developing countries. The knowledge gained from these activities is then used to influence transportation and mobility policies in Japan, creating a unique and effective feedback loop.
In 1983, Soichiro Honda and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad attended the IATTS international symposium in Malaysia.
Sharing Prime Minister Mahathir’s theory that “the source of future development of ASEAN countries lies in human resource development,” Soichiro Honda, together with Takeo Fujisawa, donated personal funds to establish the IATSS Forum in 1985 a training program for the next generation of leaders who would shape the future of Asian countries.
The IATSS Forum participants undergo an intensive eight-week program that includes experiential learning and real-world, hands-on training.
During the past 39 years, 1143 participants from 10 countries, including ASEAN and India, have completed the program. These participants have gone on to make significant contributions to the development of their respective countries, showcasing the program’s success.
