ScreenHunter_164 Aug. 04 13.22

There’s a new Toyota commercial making the rounds on the Japanese Interwebs – with over 2 million views on YouTube – which showcases not only some mind-boggling new safety tech on Toyota cars, but also reminds viewers that the world is a dangerous place in which something terrifying, embarrassing or graphically injurious could happen to you at any time.

Join us after the jump for the feel-good video of the year!

The video begins with a montage of America’s Funniest Home Videos-style accidents and mishaps, such as a kid adorably slam-dunking a toy basketball into a Little Tyke’s basket, only for the hoop to crash down on his head, an adolescent running face-first into a mailbox, and a happily dancing man falling into a pool and never resurfacing…

ScreenHunter_165 Aug. 04 13.22

Oddly, it seems these scenes are meant to be played partly for laughs and partly as some kind of heartstring-tugging reminder that we are all fragile beings and that life is one innocent mishap away from quickly and chaotically vanishing into the ether, so hell, you better buy a new Toyota with this sweet new safety technology!

The Toyota Vitz, a compact car available in Japan, comes equipped with the car manufacturer’s proprietary new suite of safety features called Toyota Safety Sense C. Among the features included are a laser radar and mounted camera that work in tandem with an AI computer to essentially wrest control of the car from the driver (and into the hands of a cold, logical computer system) in certain dangerous situations.

ScreenHunter_163 Aug. 04 13.22

For example, the Vitz’s computer system will automatically apply the brake when it senses an imminent collision; a feature known as “Pre-crash safety.” Additionally, the car senses inadvertent drifting (no, not that kind of drifting) and lets the driver know with the “Lane Departure Alert,” and will automatically turn the high beams on and off depending on amount of ambient light and presence of oncoming drivers. This feature may or may not also save the lives of millions of deer who will cause the high beams to turn off, thus preventing the animal’s “stand and stare dumbly” instinctual response to car headlights. Supposedly, the AI will even keep track of the driver’s close calls and sound off a buzzer whenever it senses the driver attempting a similar daredevil stunt.

In any case, it’s not clear whether the commercial is popular because of the super cool technology or because of the Schadenfreude escapism of the video’s blooper reel. But, if we’re being honest, our money is on viewers getting a kick out of the misfortune of others.

Source: Clicccar
Screenshots: YouTube/Toyotajpchannel