Helsinki's year of zero road fatalities

Helsinki has been hailed as the road safety capital of the world, after city officials revealed there has not been a single traffic-related fatality in the past year.

While road deaths have declined by an average of 3% across EU countries, according to recent European Commission figures, "they are still commonplace in metropolitan areas", said Politico. So, "to go a full year without one is a remarkable feat for most cities – let alone a European capital".

'Vision Zero'

The achievement is the culmination of years of work to reduce and then eliminate road deaths in Finland. The country adopted a "Vision Zero" traffic safety strategy in the early 2000s, guided by a set of principles and policies that, said The Guardian in 2020, "shifts responsibility for crashes from road users to the designers of the road system". If there is a crash, "it is up to authorities to ensure that it does not happen again".

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Helsinki's traffic fatalities have been declining ever since. It recorded zero pedestrian fatalities in 2019, with the city's last fatal traffic accident occurring in early July 2024. Traffic-related injuries in the capital have also plummeted from 727 in 2023 to 14 in 2024.

For context, there were a total of 20,418 deaths on EU roads in 2023, with two countries, Lithuania and Latvia, registering an strong increase (33% and 26% respectively), according to a European Transport Safety Council report.

'A handful of small changes'

Helsinki's success does not come "from any one major policy shift but from a handful of small changes" that add up to "meaningful impact" said MSM. By focusing on safer people, safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds and better post-crash care, the aim is to create "multiple layers of protection, so if one fails, the others will create a safety net to lessen the impact of a crash", said Forbes

More than half the city's streets now have a speed limit of 30 kph (less than 20 mph), a decision driven by data showing the risk of pedestrian fatality is cut in half by reducing a car's speed of impact from 40 kph to to 30 kph, said Politico.

And "street design has also played a key role", said Finnish news outlet YLE. "Pedestrian and cycling infrastructure has been significantly upgraded" and "more traffic cameras and automated enforcement systems have been introduced". In many areas, "roads have been narrowed and trees have been planted with the deliberate goal of making drivers move more cautiously", said Politico.

Other measures include "improving the traffic skills of different road users", said Forbes, as well as increasing motorcycle and moped helmet-wearing rates to nearly 100%, and "allowing the police to make random alcohol and drug tests". Finland is also the only country in Europe to conduct an in-depth investigation into every single fatal collision.

The European Transport Safety Council has recognised the country's carefully co-ordinated progress in road safety. "In Finland, they say, 'Vahinko ei tule kello kaulassa'," said ETSC director Antonio Avenoso. This "roughly translates as: 'Accidents don't come with a bell around their neck'".