The police issued numerous traffic penalty fees and fines during the campaign week 22-26 May to control the behaviour in traffic of vulnerable road users. The aim of the week-long campaign was to monitor compliance with pedestrian crossing rules and the behaviour in traffic of vulnerable road users. During the campaign, the police mostly intervened in traffic behaviour that jeopardised the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and operators of light e-vehicles.
Sanctions were issued among other things for violations of pedestrian crossing rules, to cyclists and to operators of light e-vehicles for riding on the pavement.
- Regrettably, there were failings in the behaviour of all road user groups. We particularly had to intervene in vehicles such as cycles and e-scooters being ridden on the pavement, where they shouldn’t be. In these cases, sanctions were issued to 180 riders, says Chief Superintendent Heikki Kallio at the National Police Board.
A total of 132 traffic penalty fees or fines were issued to cyclists. Kallio points out that only children under the age of 12 may cycle on the pavement and only then if this does not significantly inconvenience pedestrians.
Operators of light e-vehicles, which mostly means e-scooters, received 71 sanctions and 30 pedestrians were guilty of walking against the red light in sight of the police.
A total of 130 fines, 18 of which were so serious than the driver received a temporary driving ban, were issued to drivers of motor vehicles for failure to comply with pedestrian crossing rules.
- It never ceases to surprise me how indifferent some drivers are to pedestrian crossing rules. Since these rules were made to protect those in a more vulnerable position, violations are severely sanctioned. I appeal to all road users to consider persons on pedestrian crossings or trying to step onto a pedestrian crossing and to give them appropriate unhindered passage, Kallio emphasises.
