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Helsinki records zero traffic deaths for full year

(www.helsinkitimes.fi)
1163 points DaveZale | 7 comments | 30 Jul 25 16:08 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source | bottom
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PaulRobinson ◴[02 Aug 25 20:49 UTC] No.44771331[source]▶
I was in Helsinki for work a couple of years ago, walking back to my hotel with some colleagues after a few hours drinking (incredibly expensive, but quite nice), beer.

It was around midnight and we happened to come across a very large mobile crane on the pavement blocking our way. As we stepped out (carefully), into the road to go around it, one of my Finnish colleagues started bemoaning that no cones or barriers had been put out to safely shepherd pedestrians around it. I was very much "yeah, they're probably only here for a quick job, probably didn't have time for that", because I'm a Londoner and, well, that's what we do in London.

My colleague is like "No, that's not acceptable", and he literally pulls out his phone and calls the police. As we carry on on our way, a police car comes up the road and pulls over to have a word with the contractors.

They take the basics safely over there in a way I've not seen anywhere else. When you do that, you get the benefits.

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graemep ◴[02 Aug 25 21:18 UTC] No.44771583[source]▶
On the other hand the UK as a whole had a lower road traffic realted death rate than Finland did: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casua... The UK is not that different by comparison.

It is a pretty remarkable achievement though, and shows what can be done.

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sophia01 ◴[02 Aug 25 22:12 UTC] No.44772070[source]▶
> The UK is not that different by comparison.

Do note that the UK is 15.6x as dense as Finland, and the climate is quite different: e.g. in Helsinki (southermost city) mean daily temperature is below freezing point 4/12 months of the year (very consequential for driving). E.g. in Scotland even the mean daily minimum does not cross freezing point in any month.

OECD data has Finland at 0.36 fatalities per 10k vehicles vs 0.41 in the UK.

https://www.itf-oecd.org/road-safety-dashboard

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throwaway9832[dead post] ◴[03 Aug 25 01:17 UTC] No.44773300{3}[source]▶
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1. Teever ◴[03 Aug 25 01:31 UTC] No.44773359{4}[source]▶
You seem to be suggesting that frozen roads paradoxically make for safer driving?

Is that a fair characterization of your comment?

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2. 01HNNWZ0MV43FF ◴[03 Aug 25 01:48 UTC] No.44773430[source]▶
People widely believe this about stick-shift cars, too. I don't, but people do.
3. threatofrain ◴[03 Aug 25 03:23 UTC] No.44773828[source]▶
And narrow lanes make drivers more cautious.
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4. macintux ◴[03 Aug 25 03:36 UTC] No.44773895[source]▶
I'm not the person you're replying to, and I have no idea what the data says about frozen roads, but it's certainly possible that two things are both true:

- There are more accidents (per active vehicle) on frozen roads

- There are fewer fatalities on frozen roads due to the lower speeds

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5. throwaway9832 ◴[03 Aug 25 05:57 UTC] No.44774399[source]▶
Yes, that is a pretty fair characterization. The reasons is because most accidents happens due to inattention and over confidence, hazardous roads makes people pay more attention. A distracted person is more dangerous than a drunkard on the road.
6. hdgvhicv ◴[03 Aug 25 09:52 UTC] No.44775424[source]▶
People not used to it. On my school run some will do 20-60 depending on where along the road and how narrow and what the sight lines are. Others will just do 20-30 for the whole 10 miles.

At a couple of locations there’s morning room but lots of room to overtake (as long as nothing comes the other way), the road is nearly wide enough to have a line down the middle. Most drivers are fine but some of the 20-30 lot will swerve all over the road to try to block overtaking.

These aren’t super narrow, you can get a tractor or hgv down the whole road, and even at some passing places get one past another.

7. davidthewatson ◴[10 Aug 25 14:07 UTC] No.44855280[source]▶
If so, that's interesting.

Why?

One of my principles is that we gain control of an uncontrollable environment by relinquishing control to that environment. It may not be obvious, but icy roads are an uncontrollable environment. Hence, the rally driver gains control by relinquishing control, allowing the car to have an imaginary and symbolic role in her success (all hail Michelle Mouton). Think of the best Scandinavian WRC champ. In the real world, abandoning driving is advisable for many, or if continuing to drive in obviously unsafe conditions, controlling what can be controlled by lowering speed, etc.

This may seem improvisational, as some of it is indeed. However, these control schemes may be orchestrated as well. How? By ranking tires by performance in the worst winter conditions on Tire Rack before making a choice. Do that and everyone wins.