Finland
The current EU approach to assessing whether drivers are medically fit to hold a licence needs substantial revision, according to a new report by ETSC. The report examines the current state of play in European countries regarding the assessment of medical fitness to drive, with reference to current EU rules. The EU is currently reviewing the Directive on driver licensing and a revised legal proposal is expected in 2022. The report shows that the starting point for many EU countries is still age-based assessment […]
The entry-into-force of a new law in Finland to permit children as young as 15 to drive regular cars fitted with speed limiters has been withdrawn following drawn-out discussions with the European Commission about the legal and road safety implications of the scheme. The proposals, put forward two years ago by the Finnish government, would have allowed children to drive cars up to 1500 kg at speeds of up to 60 km/h and with only an AM category license – normally reserved for mopeds […]
Collisions caused by drink-drivers who only use alcohol, and drug drivers differ in terms of timing and types of accidents and it is common for drug users to use several intoxicants at the same time according to new research by the Finnish Crash Data Institute (OTI), an ETSC member. The latest OTI substance abuse report looked at fatal collisions investigated in Finland over the period 2014–2018 and drivers who had been driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or both. The investigators found […]
Two European capitals, Helsinki and Oslo, achieved the milestone of zero pedestrian and cyclist deaths last year. Remarkably, Norway also reported zero child road deaths nationally for the first time, based on ages 0-15. ETSC’s most recent PIN report (based on 2018 data) showed that Norway had the lowest road mortality in Europe, at 20 deaths per million inhabitants. The country also recorded the largest drop in road deaths since 2010 – highlighting that an already high performing country can continue to make rapid […]
The entry-into-force of a new law in Finland to permit children as young as 15 to drive regular cars fitted with speed limiters has been postponed following an intervention by the European Commission. The proposals, put forward last year by the government, would have allowed children to drive cars up to 1500kg at speeds of up to 60 km/h and with only an AM category license – normally reserved for mopeds and light quadricycles. The original legal proposal set a speed limit of 45 […]
In this briefing, ETSC outlines its recommendations on the key EU road safety policy dossiers to be steered by the Finnish Presidency of the European Union in the second part of 2019.
A survey carried out for ETSC’s Finnish member Liikenneturva has found that nine out of ten Finns have a positive view of in-car technology that can prevent drink driving such as alcohol interlocks. Finland has had a nationwide rehabilitation programme for drink drivers, coupled with the use of alcohol interlocks fitted in offenders’ vehicles since 2008. A 2013 evaluation found the effects on participants to be positive and that the programme has prevented 12,000 instances of driving under the influence of alcohol. The poll […]
Finnish police plan to install an additional 150 safety cameras over the next three years. Municipal officials are currently working with police to determine where to place the devices. The addition of the new cameras will more than double the current stock of 130. Police also have plans to introduce 25 mobile safety camera vehicles. The Finnish Transport Agency is preparing a list of proposed sites, the final locations will be based on road safety data. New data for the first half of 2017 has shown that Finnish motorists are slowing down as a result of increased automated enforcement. […]
ETSC’s Finnish member organisation Liikenneturva has criticised a government proposal to weaken a number of key aspects of road safety. The proposals include a revision to Finland’s world-renowned system of linking fines for traffic offences to income known as the ‘day fine’. The government’s proposal is in future to only apply the system in cases where the speed limit has been exceeded by 30 km/h or more. Likkenneturva has pointed out that this change could have serious consequences in particular for urban areas, where […]
First REVIVE Round table focused on improving post-collision outcomes in Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, and Norway In the framework of the REVIVE Project, experts from the Emergency Medical Service (EMS), Rescue/Fire Service (RFS) and Road Transport Safety representatives from Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, and Norway met in Helsinki on the 12 April 2017. In the first regional REVIVE round table, they discuss the way forward for improving post-collision response and emergency care. The meeting gathered representatives from Ministries of the Interior, Health, and […]
The European Commission’s latest road safety scorecard reveals, for the first time, estimated figures for rates of serious injury per million inhabitants broken down by country for 16 EU member states. The data act as a further reminder of the scale of the problem, with rates of serious injury dwarfing the numbers killed. The data is based on MAIS3+, a common definition of a serious injury now being used for comparison across the EU. EU transport commissioner Violeta Bulc told the European Parliament in […]
Across Europe there is still a group of hard core drink driving offenders that seem unwilling or unable to change their behaviour despite the use of traditional countermeasures such as awareness campaigns, fines and driving bans. For this group, the introduction of an alcohol interlock programme seems to be an effective measure. Studies have repeatedly shown that alcohol interlock programmes, combined with rehabilitation programmes, cut reoffending rates both during and after the driver has been required to install the device in their vehicle. This […]
Tampere Hall, Yliopistonkatu 55, 33100 Tampere, Finland 19 September, 08:15 – 10:30 Side event of the 12th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion 18-21 September. ETSC and its Finnish members, the Finnish Road Safety Council Liikenneturva, the Finnish Transport Safety Agency (Trafi) and the Finnish Motor Insurers’ Centre (LVK) will host a side event at the 12th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion on the 19th of September 2016 in Tampere. The event aims to broaden knowledge and awareness of Intelligent Speed […]
Ireland’s Road Safety Authority (RSA) wants the government to consider graduated fines for speeding motorists based on ability to pay. Moyagh Murdock, the RSA’s chief executive said last month that the agency plans to submit a proposal on graduated fines to the Department of Transport as part of a wider series of measures designed to combat drivers who repeatedly breach road traffic laws. Part of the reason for seeking higher fines for wealthier drivers was research carried out on behalf of the authority which […]
Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Runeberginkatu 2, Helsinki 9:00 – 13:00, 7 October 2014 The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) and Liikenneturva (the Finnish Road Safety Council) held a conference on distracted driving on 7 October 2014. Download the agenda. Presentations 1. PIN Overview – ETSC 2. Distracted Driving – ITS Leeds 3. Drivers’ need for information and the problem of distraction – VTT 4. Distracted Driving in Italy – Fondazione Ania 5. Distracted Driving in Finland – Liikenneturva [<a href=”//storify.com/etsc_eu/etsc-liikenneturva-distracted-driving-conference-h” target=”_blank”>View the story “ETSC / […]