A northern European metropolis has not recorded any deaths in a road accident in the past year.
Although road fatalities are decreasing across the European Union, with a 3% decrease in 2024, accidents with tragic outcomes are still common in metropolitan areas. Under these circumstances, going a whole year without a fatal accident is a remarkable achievement for most cities – let alone for a European capital, notes Politico.
In 2023, 7,807 Europeans lost their lives in road accidents in EU cities. 55 people died in road accidents in Berlin last year, and nine people lost their lives in collisions in the Brussels region in the last 12 months, the publication writes.
Although Helsinki is among the smallest capitals in the EU, with just under 690,000 residents, approximately 1.5 million people live and commute in the metropolitan area.
Slower and Safer
Roni Utriainen, a traffic engineer in the city's Urban Environment Division, told the Finnish press that the achievement was attributed to "several factors, but speed limits are one of the most important."
Based on data showing that the risk of pedestrian death is halved by reducing a car's impact speed from 40 to 30 kilometers per hour, city officials imposed lower limits in most residential areas and in downtown Helsinki in 2021.
Car traffic has been kept under control with 70 new speed surveillance cameras and a new police strategy based on the "Vision Zero" national policy, aiming for zero casualties or deaths in traffic.
Data collected by Liikenneturva, the Finnish road safety entity, shows that since then, the number of deaths in road accidents in Helsinki has decreased.
Thousands of Kilometers of Bike Lanes
Helsinki authorities have spent the last five years trying to replicate the miracle they first achieved in 2019, when no pedestrian or cyclist was killed in car collisions.
Utriainen emphasized that success is based on long-term mobility policies, data-driven strategies, and urban development strategies that have transformed the capital. In many parts of the city, roads have been narrowed, and trees have been planted deliberately to make drivers feel uncomfortable - the rationale being that complex urban landscapes force drivers to move more cautiously through populated areas.
Helsinki has also invested in new infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, including building a comprehensive network of bike lanes that stretch over 1,500 kilometers.
It has also strengthened its public transport network with electric and autonomous buses and received funding from the European Investment Bank for a new tram line.
Utriainen stated that the modernizations have contributed to "reducing car usage and, along with it, the number of serious accidents." And statistics show that between 2003 and 2023, the number of traffic injuries in the city decreased from 727 to just 14.
Helsinki's success is being closely watched in Brussels, where the European Commission is pushing for a reduction in road deaths. Earlier this year, Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas noted that most member states are on track to miss the EU's 2018 objective to halve the number of road accident-related deaths by 2030.