Staying safe behind the wheel of a car has always been the responsibility of the driver. Sure, there are laws in place to prevent you from drinking, texting and otherwise impairing your ability to react in a safe manner to the trials and tribulations of the road, but in the end it comes down to the driver’s choices –  at least until the day when driverless cars become the norm.

That being said, it’s not as if car manufacturers have been sitting in neutral this entire time, letting drivers and the judicial system work out the best plans for safe driving. Toyota, for instance, will be taking its new co-operative Driving Safety Support System to the streets for public testing in Japan.

Toyota’s new ITS-based technology allows a car to communicate with traffic lights through the 700-Mhz band, notifying the driver in advance whether or not to slow down and prepare for a stop via audio cues. The traffic-light-to-car system is sponsored by the Universal Traffic Management System of Japan and supported by the Japanese National Police Agency.

The tests will be performed along a road in Toyota City that has been outfitted with the infrastructure required for the light detection service to test kit-equipped cars. The data pooled from the tests will measure driver behavior under various driving conditions and allow Toyota to analyze the extent to which this technology may be able to reduce traffic accidents.

Even putting safety aside, it is hoped that being advised in advance whether or not to prepare for a stop will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Data that speaks to this effect will be incorporated into further development of the system, making cars with the cooperative hardware not only the safer choice, but potentially the greener choice as well.

This is not the only system that Toyota has used with the government-deployed 700-Mhz band. In March last year, the company used the ITS to test drive another automotive safety solution: one that detects potential collisions. With this new system operating on the same infrastructure, Toyota seems dedicated to giving drivers the tools to work with the road for safety, not against it.