In anticipation of a large-scale power outage, a drill was held in Higashi-Kurume City, Tokyo, to restore signals by supplying power from hybrid vehicles.
About 1 people, including police officers and employees of automobile dealerships, participated in the one-day training held by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and others.
The drill was conducted on the assumption that a large-scale power outage occurred in a huge earthquake and the traffic lights went out, and at the beginning, a police officer guided the car with hand signals.
Next, a drill was conducted to restore the signal by supplying electricity from the hybrid vehicle, and police officers connected the car to the traffic light with a cable to make sure that the lights were lit properly.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has an agreement with this company to provide electric and hybrid vehicles as a power source for traffic lights in the event of a disaster, and one car can supply electricity to traffic lights for about five days.
Tatsuya Shiota, chief of the Traffic Division of the Tanashi Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, said, "In the event of a large-scale power outage, it is not possible to deploy police officers at all intersections, so we would like to prepare as much as possible on a daily basis with the help of the private sector."