"Accidents happen." It's the oft-quoted mantra of anyone who spends time behind the wheel. Sooner or later, you'll witness or partake in a vehicular mishap. The Japan Automobile Research Institute aims to take a less stoic attitude about accidents and have set up a model street to evaluate accident prevention systems and practices.

The model street, which is larger than three football fields, includes straight and curved sections and will offer Institute researchers better insight into the conditions that cause accidents. We can't speak for what causes fender benders in Japan, but in the US, the number one cause has got to be drivers with absolutely no training paying limited attention to the task at hand. Who can blame them? The allure of text messaging is so much more enticing than piloting a 3500-pound projectile rendered in metal, composite and glass. Familiarize yourself with good car-brandishing skills and then observe the idiots that surround you. There's no institute needed to discern that inattention and ineptitude often play roles, but there are often plenty of other factors. That's what the model street has been developed to study. Here's to safer travels for drivers and pedestrians alike -- and let's hope they export the stuff that actually works at reducing incidents.

[Source: MSN - Mainichi]