Tokyo: Toyota resumes operations of driverless vehicles after accident

Services of the e-Palette pods were suspended after a vehicle hit a visually impaired athlete last week.

Although the athlete did not suffer any massive injuries but he had to pull out of an event because of cuts and bruises.

The vehicles will now have more operator control and extra staff to ensure they do not hit any more people.

Aramitsu Kitazono, a member of Japan's judo team, was hit as he was walking across a pedestrian crossing on Thursday. Mr Kitazono was unable to compete in his 81kg category because of the accident.

In a statement late on Monday, Toyota said: "The vehicle's sensor detected the pedestrian crossing and activated the automatic brake, and the operator also activated the emergency brake. The vehicle and pedestrians, however, came into contact before it came to a complete halt."

The company said that operators would now be given control over how fast the vehicles travel, with two members of safety staff on board, rather than one, to help look out for pedestrians.