Over the past year, no fatal road accidents have been registered in the Finnish capital, Helsinki. To achieve this, the city authorities used several tools. The speed limit is considered the most important. This is reported by Politico.
Although Helsinki is one of the smallest capitals in the European Union, with a population of just under 690,000, about 1.5 million people live in the Capital Region and commute to work in the capital.
Back in 2021, Helsinki city authorities introduced an upper speed limit in most residential areas — 30 kilometers per hour — citing data that the risk of pedestrian deaths decreases if they collide with a car at this speed. To monitor how the new rules are being followed, 70 new speed cameras have been added to the city, and police controls have been strengthened.
In many parts of the city, roads were narrowed and trees were planted to create inconvenience for drivers. This is justified by the fact that complex urban landscapes force drivers to move more carefully through populated areas.
The city has also invested in new infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists; in particular, it has created a network of bike paths with a length of more than 1,500 kilometers. In addition, Helsinki has expanded public transport: it has launched eco-friendly autonomous buses and received funding from the European Investment Bank for the construction of a new tram line.
Roni Utriainen, a traffic engineer from the urban environment department, said these changes have reduced the use of cars and the number of serious accidents. According to official data, the number of injuries in road accidents from 2003 to 2023 decreased from 727 to 14.