Reminder from the police: Let’s ensure safe crossing for pedestrians, put the mobile phone away while driving and remember to buckle up even on the rear seat

Next week, from 11 to 17 March, the police will monitor intensively the compliance of pedestrian crossing rules, the use of safety equipment, the use of mobile phones and other distraction factors in traffic.

During the last three years, approximately 29 pedestrians have died and 420 pedestrians have been injured per year. In almost two out of three incidents in which a pedestrian has died as well as 90 percents of all injuries occurred in densely populated urban areas. 12 percent of all people that have died in traffic accidents were pedestrians. Likewise, seven percent of the people that were injured were pedestrians.

– Pedestrian crossings aren’t as safe as they should be, for every fifth accident that lead to a fatality occurred on pedestrian crossing. In addition, more than half of the injured pedestrians got hurt on pedestrian crossing, comments Heikki Kallio , Chief Superintendent with the National Police Board.

Pedestrian crossings are the most dangerous for the elderly and for the children. Over half of the people that died and about 35 percent of the people that were injured on pedestrian crossing were aged 65 or older. In more than one out of four cases in which a pedestrian was injured, the injured party was a child or young person.

– For these reasons, we are paying special attention to the drivers’ traffic behaviour as they approach pedestrian crossings that are about to be used by children or the elderly, comments Kallio.

Give way for pedestrians

Kallio reminds that drivers should be alert as they approach pedestrian crossings. They should also be ready to ensure safe crossing for the pedestrians by lowering their speed accordingly.

Accidents on pedestrian crossings often happen as a combined result of various factors. However, the biggest single reason is usually failure by drivers to take on board the true significance of pedestrian crossings and their own obligations when approaching one.

According to the law, the driver of a vehicle approaching a pedestrian crossing must drive at a speed at which they can stop before reaching the crossing, if necessary. Drivers must give way to pedestrians who are either on, or stepping onto, a pedestrian crossing.

– There is a lot of room for improvement in this part in our traffic culture. Often pedestrians are denied of safe crossing and they have to wait in front of pedestrian crossing as the drivers neglect their obligation to slow down or stop, says Chief Superintendent Heikki Kallio.

– Accident risk also increases as a vehicle driver may momentarily loose his or her concentration on driving and on following the environment and other traffic, Kallio continues.

When monitoring distraction in traffic, the police monitors any activity that may have an impact on concentration or other observation of traffic. Kallio notes that the most typical distraction is the use of mobile phone while driving. The European Commission has estimated that inattention is a risk factor in 10–30 percent of road accidents.

Seat belts safe lives

According to the estimates of the Finnish road accident investigation teams, a seat belt could have saved the lives of every third person killed in a road accident. (22 individuals in 2017)

With a view to traffic safety, it is positive that the use of seat belts has increased over the last few years. However, particularly in urban areas and especially on the rear seats of passenger cars (88 percent use seat belts on rear seats) as well as in vans and trucks the use of seat belts is still not as frequent as it should be (80 percent of van and truck passengers use seat belt).

– The risk of bodily injury of a passenger who is travelling without a seat belt, at the rear seat of a car, within the speed limit of urban areas, is three times higher than of a person who is wearing a seat belt. The means by which the police can increase the use of seat belts are monitoring and provision of information, Kallio says.

Supervision of foreign nationals

During the week of intensive supervision of traffic, the police will also supervise foreign nationals and if they fulfil the conditions of their residence. Supervision of aliens is performed as a part of daily police work.

– In practice this means that when a police verifies the identity of an individual and they turn out to be foreigners, the police also ensure that the foreigner fulfils the conditions of their residence, states Chief Superintendent Ari Jokinen.

In addition, police departments can inspect for example restaurants and other predetermined locations. In this kind of supervision the operations are based on tips or an advance analysis.

– Police control and supervision can never be based merely on actual or implied ethnic origin. Instead, it must be based on tips or analysed data of illegal residence.

European Union and Schengen acquis obliges police among others to prevent illegal immigration and residence within the Schengen area where there are no internal border controls. Supervision of aliens in the inland is based on the Aliens Act. The law states that aliens do not have unconditional right to reside in a country and it also defines the requirements for residence.

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