During this year, there have been news about increases in serious speeding offences often in Finland.
According to the statistics of the police, offences involving causing a serious traffic hazard increased by 60% from January to March compared to the start of last year. During the emergency conditions in the spring, the growth has evened out, and the police only recorded approximately 30% more speeding offences from March to April compared to the same time last year.
Is the situation similar elsewhere in Europe? The National Police Board investigated the matter by sending an email survey to the contact persons of the approximately thirty member states in the European network of traffic police forces ROADPOL, a bit over half of whom responded to the survey.
“According to the survey, the increase in speeding offences – even serious ones – is not only a problem in Finland, but also in many other European countries. It seems like the coronavirus crisis has increased traffic activity that is risky and extremely reprehensible with regard to traffic safety,” says Chief Superintendent Heikki Kallio , National Police Board.
Opportunity makes the thief
According to Data Analyst Mika Sutela, Helsinki Police Department, cases of serious speeding have increased in Austria and Switzerland, among other places. In Estonia, speeding offences have been occurring at the usual rate, even though the amount of traffic has decreased by more than one third.
“Many countries report that when the road is empty, the ‘opportunity makes the thief’. When people have enough space, they get careless and drive even at extremely high speeds,” Sutela says.
The report from Serbia states that the number of traffic accidents and fatalities has been reduced by half during the coronavirus crisis. In Hungary, the number of speeding offences, road traffic fatalities and, among other things, motorcycle accidents has decreased during the emergency conditions. Slovenia and Croatia, too, state that the overall traffic safety situation has improved.
“In Croatia, however, there have been several accidents involving young drivers that have led to death. The causes behind the accidents have included speeding and lack of driving experience. In Lithuania and the Czech Republic, several accidents leading to death have occurred in the recent weeks, involving motorcyclists, among others.
Even the seatbelts are forgotten
In Spain, which has suffered greatly from the coronavirus, there have been more cases of not wearing a seatbelt, and speeding has increased there, too. In contrast, speeding has been reduced in Italy due to the severe coronavirus restrictions.
In the Netherlands, the number of traffic offences has increased heavily, and they are already planning special measures to root out the problem.
Chief Inspector Dennis Pasterstein from the Traffic Safety Centre of the Police reminds people that in Finland, too, all possible measures must be taken to calm down the situation and prevent accidents.
“The likelihood of serious accidents has increased,” he says.
Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Croatia, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary, Estonia and the Netherlands responded to the survey of the National Police Board.
