Zero. There is a number of people killed in traffic accidents in Helsinki during the previous year.
However other cities have achieved this feat – such as the Norwegian Capital Oslo – Helsinki, who has been around 690,000 people in 2019, is one of the largest to do so. What is its most recent traffic fatal in July 2024.
The road toll of Finnish Capital has been much lower than other European capitals, both absolutely and per capita.
It recorded four traffic deadly – 0.59 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024 – by early July.
Comparatively, Berlin recorded 100,000 and London 110 to 1.45. OsloWhich is slightly larger than only Helsinki, was 0.56.
According to Ronnie Utrine, a traffic engineer and road planner for Helsinki city, there are many reasons for success. The list lacks a speed limit of 30 km/h.
However, the speed limit of 30 km/h around Helsinki is not the same, it is applied to more than half of the city roads, said by Utrinen. Helsinki reduced the speed of 30 km/h around schools before this heat, so that children could be protected to go to school.
,I think it is one of the major measures. Reducing motion limitations is not a sufficient solution, but it is quiet important, “Utrinen told DW.
Helsinki’s target is no traffic fatal by 2050
Helsinki’s achievement aligns with the European Union’s “Vision Zero” program, which aims to know as a deadly of zero road by 2050.
To reach that goal, Helsinki’s City Administration launched a traffic safety development program with the aim of making the city road safe and more socially responsible.
Helsinki wants to identify the most important routes for safety of children, pedestrians and cyclists and to rebuild its infrastructure keeping in mind. This includes rebuilding bike paths, street lighting, improving guidelines and including networking WIGH Oth cities and cities and institutions.
Increasing the use of public transport, which removes cars from roads, is a priority, according to utrinen.
Data to prevent accidents
Helsinki collected crash and driving speed data and resident response to identify dangerous sections of road or accident.
This helps the traffic planner understand how traffic works in the city, where changes are required and can be used to plan street and pedestrian crossings, bike paths and public transport.
Hagen Schüller, A Traffic Planner and Engineer PTV Transport Consult in Berlin said that it was important to consider several data points while doing modern traffic planning. But it is a complex undertaking.
“You have to keep a lot of factors in mind. This is very complex road safety,” Sholer told DW.
,In most large cities, there are traffic control centers, where traffic of the entire city is monitored, through sensors, cameras, detectors.
“You cannot control every factor like bad weather, but removing one creates a buffer and does not cause an accident.”
To investigate and interrupt the success of thesis tasks, traffic control is important. The coordination between the city and the police has enabled Helsinki to implement traffic rules and control the speed of the city.
“Speed enforcement is an important way to address real driving motion,” Utrinen told DW.
“Police is responsible for speed enforcement in Finland, but the city is responsible for the construction of fixed control points, which the police operate.”
Now 60 are fixed control points – Speed Camera – Around Helsinki, mainly on roads of 40 km/h or more.
“We have found that the definite control point especially reduces the ratio of excessive speed,” said Utrinen.
More innovation, but more implementation
Schüller believes that the future of traffic management can be automatic and AI drive.
Still development, in automation, he said, he wants to emerge with self-driving vehicles. If approved for use, the thesis vehicle will send speed and location data to the traffic control centers, which will return the information about speed limit and disruption.
Artificial Intelligence, Sholer said, can be used automatically to analyze pictures from traffic cameras to control traffic from traffic cameras.
Sholer is sure that vision zero is possible and thinks that Helsinki’s efforts are a model for medium -sized cities.
“Most cities that used to do this [achieve zero fatalities] Are small, very small. The attention that Helsinki attracts is appropriate, “Shuller said.
For other European cities, the challenge is about overcoming local politics and opposition to road change.
Discussion about destroying parking spaces to make bike lanes, reducing speed limit or creating no-car is a everyday subject for many German cities. But knowledge and technology are already available, Shuller said.
