Better hold your liquor: in effort to prevent accidents from occurring in Japan's train stations, West Japan Railway has installed dozens of cameras in Osaka's Kyobashi station that can detect if commuters are inebriated.
The cameras are programmed to identify anything from drunken tics like staggering to unusual behavior typical of citizens who've imbibed a little too much sake, such as passing out on benches or inexplicably dawdling on train platforms or in the station. Station employees can then zone in on the individual and get them either requisite medical attention or help them sober up.
So far, 46 cameras have been installed in the station; the railway has stated that these cameras will not be used for purposes of identification.
The camera test run at Kyobashi is part of an effort to combat reckless behavior in Japan's train stations. In 2013 alone, 221 people were hit by trains, by either falling onto the tracks or getting too close to the train platform edge. In around 60 percent of some 3,000 instances of people falling onto the tracks the victims were intoxicated, according to Japan's transportation ministry.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a JR West spokesman noted that there are plans to install these cameras in other stations across Japan in the near future.
Via: Wall Street Journal
Photo: Doca Doca | Flickr
