The number of summary penal orders and summary penal fees issued by the police for traffic offences or traffic violations decreased in September and October, after the summary penal fees were increased.
“These results suggest that doubling the sum in euro of summary penal fees has improved drivers' behaviour on the road,” says Chief Superintendent Heikki Ihalainen of the National Police Board.
Summary penal fees were increased by a government decree from 1 September 2015 onwards. The summary penal fees were doubled, with the exception of the highest fee of 115 euros which was raised to 200 euros.
According to Ihalainen, the number of summary penal orders issued by the police dropped by about a thousand and the number of summary penal fees by about 3,000 in September and October compared to the same period last year.
“The number of summary penal orders issued through automatic traffic control has decreased by about 500 and that of summary penal fees by 3,500. Traditional traffic control issued about 500 summary penal orders less and some 400 summary penal fees more,” Ihalainen comments.
Although the police issued fewer summary penal fees through automatic traffic control, the number of written notices sent by post have leapt from some 15,500 to 33,000 – an increase of about 18,000 notices.
Road conditions have been exceptionally good this September and October, but this has not led to an apparent increase in driving speeds.
According to data collected from the metering points of the Finnish Transport Agency, the share of vehicles exceeding speeding limits did not change from August to September. In previous years, speeding had increased in September.
