Helsinki has recorded no road-related deaths last year, the city authorities announced this week. An achievement that highlights the effectiveness of its long-term road safety policy, reports News.bg.
Although the European Union is set to see an overall decline in road deaths of 3% in 2024, such incidents are still common in large urban areas. In 2023 alone In 2021, 7,807 people died in road accidents in EU cities, including 55 in Berlin and nine in the Brussels region.
With a population of under 700,000 but around 1.5 million in the wider metropolitan area, Helsinki managed to record an impressive zero road deaths for an entire year. A result that the local authorities attribute to a combination of strategic measures.
“This achievement is the result of many factors, but speed limits play a key role“, said Ronni Utriainen, an engineer at the Urban Environment Directorate.
In 2021, the city government introduced a 30 km/h limit in most residential areas and central streets, based on data showing that the risk of death for a pedestrian in a collision at this speed is half that of a collision at 40 km/h. The measures were complemented by the installation of 70 speed cameras and an increased police presence.
The Helsinki policy is part of the national initiative “Vision Zero“, aimed at completely eliminating fatal road accidents. Data from the Finnish road safety service Liikenneturva indicate a steady decline in deaths since the start of its implementation.
For comparison, according to data from the Ministry of Interior, 19 people died in road accidents in the Sofia-city district in the first half of 2024.