The Midsummer weekend was celebrated in warm weather throughout the country, but fortunately that was not reflected in the number of drownings: only two cases were reported to the police, two less than at Midsummer weekend in 2022. However, six people died in road traffic over Midsummer this year, four more than in 2022. The number of those injured was 33, 21 less than over Midsummer 2022.
A total of 94 traffic offences related to traffic accidents were reported to the police. The number of typical accidents for summer, driving at excessive speed resulting in the car going off the road, totaled 37. Speed and intoxicants were often involved in offences resulting in fatalities.
15 cases involved a vehicle colliding with an animal. Chief Superintendent Heikki Ihalainen of the National Police Board points out that all road signs warning of animals must be taken seriously on the road.
The police caught 383 drunken drivers on the road, 19 less than last year. The trend in waterway traffic intoxications was positive, as the number of drunken drivers was 18, 33 less than over Midsummer in 2022.
