How Helsinki Went An Entire Year Without A Single Traffic Death

Forbes

4 days ago

Helsinki had zero road crash fatalities in the past twelve months. Lower speed limits, smarter street design and better enforcement are among the reasons for the success.
The news, confirmed by city and police officials, was announced in late July by Yleisradio Oy (Yle), Finland's national public broadcasting company.
"A lot of factors contributed to this, but speed limits are one of the most important," Roni Utriainen, a traffic engineer with the city's Urban Environment Division, told the media organization. More than half of Helsinki's streets now have a speed limit of 30 km/h (about 18 -19 mph).
In addition to lowering the speed limit, several other factors contributed to the city's accomplishment in making its streets safer, he added. These include: better street design and infrastructure, improved vehicle technology for both cars and other personal transport options, increased cooperation with traffic police, better traffic education, and more traffic cameras and automated enforcement systems.
For example, the city made investments in its infrastructure, upgrading and improving the design of crosswalks and intersections to better protect pedestrians and cyclists.
And public transport in Helsinki is excellent, which reduces car use, Utriainen added, noting that the number of serious injuries have also decreased. But while there are many reasons for the decline in serious injuries and death, he said credit also 'belongs to everyone on the road — motorists, cyclists and pedestrians alike.'
Lower speeds in European,urban areas more generally have resulted in significantly fewer crashes, particularly serious collisions and those involving pedestrians and cyclists, according to a report released last year.
Helsinki's success is part of a long-term, country-wide commitment, which resulted in greatly reduced road deaths nationwide over the last decade.
Last year, Finland received the 2024 Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) prize for outstanding progress in road safety, awarded by the European Transport Safety Council, a Brussels-based independent non-profit organization.
'In Finland, they say 'vahinko ei tule kello kaulassa' which roughly translates as 'accidents don't come with a bell around their necks,'' Antonio Avenoso, executive director of the European Transport Safety Council, said in a statement at the time the award was given. 'That may explain why the Finnish take such a comprehensive and strategic approach that seeks to cover many different aspects of road danger.'
Helsinki, as well as Finland's current traffic safety strategy, is guided by the Vision Zero or Safe System approach to road safety and design that takes human error into account, first put into effect in Sweden in the 1990s.
The goal of the initiative is to eliminate all road deaths and serious injuries by creating multiple layers of protection, so if one fails, the others will create a safety net to lessen the impact of a crash. Improvements are designed to result in: safer people, safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds and better post-crash care.
"For us, it's more about how the goal guides our everyday actions," Utriainen told Yle. 'We aim to assess all our decisions based on their long-term impact.'
Rochelle Sobel, founder and president of the Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT), a nonprofit based in the United States, said the progress has implications beyond Finland's capital city.
'Helsinki, I hope," she told Forbes, "is a glimpse into the very near future, providing cities around the world with both inspiration and a practical framework for what can and should be accomplished when political will and proven road safety strategies work together. '
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