Helsinki officials announced in late July that the Finnish capital recorded no traffic-related deaths in 2024, Politico reports.
While the overall number of fatal accidents is declining across Europe, they are still not uncommon in more densely populated areas. Going a year without a tragic traffic accident would be a significant achievement for many cities, let alone a capital.
In 2023, 7,807 people died in traffic accidents in European cities. In 2024, 55 people lost their lives in accidents in Berlin alone.
Although Helsinki is one of the smallest European capitals with 690,000 inhabitants, around one and a half million people participate in traffic, including the suburbs. Traffic engineer Roni Utriainen told the Finnish press that the achievement was a combination of many measures, but the most important was definitely the speed limit.
City officials already lowered the speed limit in Helsinki in 2021.
70 radars are used for speed control, and data from the Finnish Road Safety Office shows that fatal traffic accidents have become increasingly rare since the new restrictions came into force.
Helsinki authorities have been trying for five years to repeat the performance of 2019, when there were no fatalities in collisions in the capital. Utriainen stressed that the key to success is a data-driven long-term mobility policy and urban development strategy that has transformed the once car-centric city. In many parts of the city, streets have been made narrower and trees have been planted, with the deliberate aim of making driving more uncomfortable, thus forcing drivers to be more careful and slow down.
Helsinki has also invested in new pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, including a comprehensive network of cycle paths totalling around 1,500 kilometres. It has also improved its public transport network and secured funding from the European Investment Bank for a new tram line. Utrinainen said the improvements have reduced car use and, with it, the number of serious accidents.
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