Nationwide traffic surveillance performed last week by the police revealed multiple cases of failure to use seat belts in both the front and back seats, and use of mobile phones without hands-free devices.
During the same exercise, around fifty motorists overtook a car, which had halted at a pedestrian crossing, without stopping and fifty failed to give way to pedestrians at pedestrian crossings.
Chief Superintendent Heikki Ihalainen of the National Police Board emphasises the importance of using seat belts.
– Use of seat belts saves lives in the event of collisions; no one can be sure of avoiding crashes, whether due to their own actions or the miscalculations of other road users.
He also points out that use of mobile phones while driving poses a danger and is a nuisance for other traffic.
– Mobile phone use is only legal with hands-free devices, Ihalainen adds.
Surveillance by the police and the reduction in pedestrian crossing accidents last year indicate that pedestrian crossings are being taken more seriously.
– However, every accident at a pedestrian crossing is one too many, since they should be safe places to cross roads, comments Ihalainen.
The police devoted 5,500 working hours to last week’s intensive surveillance. There were around 1,700 cases of failure to use seat belts in the front seat and around 100 in the back seat. Around 1,000 drivers were encountered using mobile phones without hands-free devices.
