Japan approves Traffic Jam Pilot for driving in expressway jams

On 11 November 2020 Japan's transport ministry approved the Honda Legend with Traffic Jam Pilot, which drives in expressway traffic jams, after an examination against the safety standards.

  • Not rated a person

    The ministry approved the car after a conformity examination, and no outcome for drivers is reported.

Depth runs from 1, a convenience or time saved, to 5, a life or a livelihood preserved.

Status
Intended benefit.
Evidence

foundstudiedreportedclaimed

An independent regulatory document supports the benefit.

The system’s part
Not isolated. The ministry's laboratory examined the system against the safety standards, and the release gives no comparison of driving with and without it. The release describes a device that monitors surrounding traffic and takes over the driving. It does not say whether the device uses machine learning.
Limits
Not yet checked.
Costs and harms
Not yet checked.
Later
Not yet checked.

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Benefit type
Increased Product Safety
System
Traffic Jam Pilot (automated operation device) on the Honda Legend
Made by
Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
Used by
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (factory-fitted on the Legend)
Where
Japan
Stage
Tested in a laboratory
Date
, when the source was published
Kind
Benefit created
Broad benefit
Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment, Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
Collections
Scrutiny and findings
Last revised
31 October 2026

Sources

  1. Regulatory document, by authors with no tie to the system.

    Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (Japan), Road Transport Bureau. 世界初！自動運転車（レベル３）の型式指定を行いました (World first: type designation of a Level 3 automated vehicle). Press release, 11 November 2020, section 1.

    本田技研工業（株）から申請のあった自動運行装置を搭載した自動運転車（レベル３）について、（独）自動車技術総合機構交通安全環境研究所における保安基準適合性の審査を踏まえ、本日、世界で初めて型式指定を行いました。

  2. Other, by the makers.

    Honda Motor Co., Ltd. 自動運行装置の概要 (Outline of the automated operation device), attachment 3 to the ministry's press release of 11 November 2020, provided by Honda.

    自車の速度が自動運行装置の作動開始前は約30km/h未満、作動開始後は約50km/h 以下であること

Details

AI system

Workflow

The device monitors the traffic around the car, including the vehicle ahead. It takes over the driving, following the vehicle ahead and keeping within the lane.

Follow-up

Conditions for replication

The device works only within the operating conditions that the minister set in the type designation. The driver stays ready to take over when the device warns.

Entry details

Sector

Road vehicle automated driving.

Purpose

Honda built Traffic Jam Pilot to drive the car in expressway traffic jams and lighten the driver's workload.

Not yet checked: model, release, provider, role, configuration, inputs and outputs, autonomy, human oversight, AI contribution, beneficiaries, reach, distribution and access, duration, every measurement question, every money question, ownership and control, dependencies, cross-border connections, geopolitical implications, replication attempts, availability, institutional decision, grounds, action and result, success criterion, every evidence question, observed or intended, alternative assessments, related entries, other identifiers, category mappings.

Cite this record

Peter H. Vartanian. (2026). Japan approves Traffic Jam Pilot for driving in expressway jams (AIBD-0892). Artificial Intelligence Benefits Database, edition of 31 October 2026. https://petervartanian.xyz/aibd/records/AIBD-0892.html (archived at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/AADSII, version 4.0)

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