Draft:Prius Missile
Prius Missile (プリウス・ミサイル, Puriusu-Misairu) is an internet slang originating from Japan in the 2010s, due to the amount of accidents caused by older drivers driving Toyota Prius and crashing into buildings, such as convenience stores.
Origin
[edit]The slang originated in the end of 2010s in Japan, due to the increase in car accidents caused by older drivers accidentally accelerating. The internet considered the cases of these cars suddenly accelerating into building and crashing to be like a missile.[1] The reason for the Toyota Prius being combined with the word is speculated to be caused by the face that the noticeable proportion of the vehicles the drivers were using being the Prius, including the Higashi-Ikebukuro runaway car crash in 2019.[2]
However, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the accident rate of Prius does not differ from other vehicles.[3] The Higashi-Ikebukuro runaway crash is deemed to be not caused by the 2nd Prius's model's failure.[4]
According to Masaki Kubota, the viral spread of the slang and the creation of the Prius's public image as a crash-prone car is thought to be caused by the extremely large amount of the car in use, the car being popular among older drivers, older drivers usually being overconfident in their driving skills, and the Prius's significance as a well-known car brand.[5]
Impact and prevention
[edit]The slang went viral after the Higashi-Ikebukuro runaway car crash in April 2019, as the number of Google searches skyrocketed in that month.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ reserved, Copyright © NEXTAGE Co , Ltd All rights. "プリウスミサイルの真相と事故防止策！事故が多いのは勘違い？". ネクステージ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-11-11.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "自動車情報誌「ベストカー」". 自動車情報誌「ベストカー」 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ "ハイブリッド車等の交通事故実態について" (PDF).
- ^ "車に不具合見つからず＝８７歳男性、運転ミスか－母子死亡の暴走事故・警視庁：時事ドットコム". web.archive.org. 2019-04-20. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ "なぜ「プリウス」はボコボコに叩かれるのか 「暴走老人」のアイコンになる日". ITmedia ビジネスオンライン (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ "2019年から検索急上昇！ 「プリウスミサイル」というネットスラングが流行したワケ | Merkmal（メルクマール）". Merkmal（メルクマール） | 交通・運輸・モビリティ産業の最新ビジネスニュース (in Japanese). 2024-02-09. Retrieved 2024-11-11.