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Revision as of 03:04, 11 November 2024 by AlphaBetaGamma (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)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
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. 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.
However, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the accident rate of Prius does not differ from other vehicles. The Higashi-Ikebukuro runaway crash is deemed to be not caused by the 2nd Prius's model's failure.
According to Masaki Kubota, the viral spread of the slang is thought to be caused by: