The police pursue traffic safety cooperation with different authorities and organisations, not forgetting increasing international cooperation.
Of all authorities monitoring traffic, the police undoubtedly play the most prominent role in maintaining traffic safety. The Finnish Border Guard and Customs also actively participate in traffic surveillance.
In addition to surveillance by the police, things affecting traffic safety include:
The priorities of traffic surveillance by the police are
The police of course also intervene with any type of other behaviour that is against traffic rules. To direct their operations, the police use national, regional and local accident statistics, traffic behaviour monitoring data and, whenever possible, also requests and wishes expressed by local residents. The police also prepare national traffic analyses to plan its traffic surveillance operations.
The purpose of police speed surveillance is to improve traffic safety by reducing speeding on the roads. The police measure driving speeds using radar guns, laser speed guns, average-speed gauges and automatic traffic surveillance equipment. In cases not detected with automatic traffic surveillance, speeding drivers are generally stopped immediately. A written caution, traffic penalty fee or fine is issued for speeding.
All patrols wearing a police uniform are engaged in traffic safety work in local police. Local police monitor traffic both in towns and on the main roads. In accordance with EU regulations, local police are also responsible for monitoring heavy goods traffic where special skills and equipment are required.
The fines imposed for traffic violations are based on the handbook for fines published by the National Police Board. You can use the fine calculator to calculate the amount that you would be fined for specific traffic offences.
The police aim to reduce the number of people driving under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants and to catch as many such offenders as possible.
Under the Criminal Code of Finland, the driver of a motor vehicle is deemed guilty of driving while intoxicated if they have a minimum of 50 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, or a minimum of 0.22 mg per litre of exhaled air. The limits for driving while seriously intoxicated are, respectively, 120 mg (blood) and 0.53 mg (exhaled air).
A driver can also be guilty of driving while intoxicated or driving while serious intoxicated when under the influence of drugs so that their blood contains the drug’s active substance or its metabolite.
The police use roadside breathalyser tests to screen drivers for drunk driving. If the breathalyser test shows zero even though the driver is obviously under the influence of substances, the driver will be taken to a health centre for further examination.
If the breathalyser test administered by the police indicates that the driver’s blood alcohol level may be above the threshold for driving while intoxicated, they will be taken to the police department for further testing using a precision breathalyser.
If the driver has at least 0.22 mg of alcohol in exhaled air in the precision breathalyser test, the police will issue the driver a fine or submit the pre-trial investigation record to the prosecutor.
Health care personnel may also take a blood sample from a person suspected of driving while intoxicated. A blood sample must be taken if the driver is so drunk or physically injured that they are incapable of blowing into the precision breathalyser. In case the driver shows signs of using intoxicating substances, a blood sample must always be taken.
The general increase in drug abuse has also increased the number of drivers under the influence of illegal drugs. The police seek to identify drivers who drive while intoxicated by observing how they drive.
When the police suspect a driver of intoxicant use, they will usually ask the driver to take a breathalyser test. If the breathalyser test shows zero even though the driver is suspected of being under the influence of intoxicants, the police will continue to investigate the matter.
The police have quick roadside drug test kits for the purpose of discovering drivers under the influence of drugs. A saliva sample is taken from a driver suspected of substance abuse and used to ascertain whether the driver is indeed under the influence of drugs. When driving while intoxicated because of drugs is suspected, the police will take the driver to a drug test administered by health care personnel, including taking a blood sample from the driver.
Alcohol impairs a driver’s ability to handle situations that require speed and accuracy. Reaction times are longer, drivers make more errors in evaluating situations and their judgement is impaired. The risk of traffic accidents grows.
Being under the influence of pharmaceuticals or illegal drugs impairs the driver’s awareness, judgment, decision-making, coordination and functional capacity. Cannabis causes grogginess and impairs a driver’s ability to estimate distances and speeds. Drivers under the influence of amphetamine take more risks and may behave in an unexpected way. Hallucinogens cause hallucinations and panic attacks.
Pharmaceuticals marked with a red warning triangle may impair a driver’s awareness, coordination, reactions and balance. The pharmaceuticals most commonly abused in Finland are tranquillisers and sleeping medications.
A typical Finnish substance abuser is a polydrug user: using more than one drug at the same time is common. Many use tranquillisers and alcohol with other drugs.
Every fifth traffic fatality involves a drunk driver. It is usually the drunken driver or a passenger in the same car who dies. The most common type of accident for a drunk driver is driving off the road. The consequences are usually severe, as drunk drivers do not usually wear seatbelts.
The police conduct breathalyser tests on more than a million drivers every year, catching almost 18,500 drunk drivers. In 2019, drugs attributed to as much as 37.9 per cent of all cases involving drunk driving. According to research, the amount of drunk drivers in the traffic flow is approximately 0.11-0.14 per cent.
Drivers guilty of driving while intoxicated face a fine or a maximum of six months' imprisonment. The minimum punishment for driving while seriously intoxicated is 60 day-fines or a maximum of two years' imprisonment. Possible injuries or fatalities caused by driving while intoxicated are taken into consideration when deciding on punishment.
If you are found guilty of driving while intoxicated, you will always be banned from driving for up to five years.
If you hand over your car to someone who is drunk, you may be fined or imprisoned for up to 12 months. Drunken drivers may also lose their right to receive accident and vehicle insurance indemnities. You will have to pay all the investigation and legal expenses yourself and compensate the insurance companies for any indemnities it has paid out.
The head investigator in charge may consider the seizure of the vehicle in cases of repeated drunk driving. If the vehicle is owned by somebody else than the person suspected of drunk driving, the driver can be ordered to pay a fee based on the value of the vehicle.
About the driving ban on the police website
About the alcoloc on the police website
About monitoring drivers’ health on the police website
The use of safety devices is monitored in connection with other traffic surveillance, and as many people as possible who neglect the use of safety devices are issued a traffic penalty fee or a written caution. The aim is to increase the use of safety belts and other safety devices.
According to traffic accident investigation committees, dozens of lives could be saved and serious injuries avoided every year if safety devices were used appropriately. Of persons who died in traffic accidents in 2018, 29 could have survived if they had used safety devices. Wearing a seatbelt could have saved 23 lives and wearing a helmet could have saved the lives of six cyclists.
Among others, the Road Traffic Act contains the following provisions for the use of seatbelts and other safety devices:
For more information on the use of safety devices, see section Safety Devices to be Used While Driving (Sections 90-97), Chapter 5, of the Road Traffic Act.
For more information on the use of safety devices, see the Road Traffic Act in Finlex (in Finnish)
The police monitor waterway traffic in inland waterways and in sea areas near harbours. The aim is to promote good boating practice, reduce waterway traffic intoxication and improve the use of safety devices. Police patrol boats also supervise compliance with regulations on nature conservation, environmental protection, fishing and hunting, besides overseeing public order and security in waterways and in the archipelago. Waterway traffic in open sea areas is subject to surveillance by the Coast Guard units of the Border Guard.
There are also separate traffic rules and speed limits to follow on the water. Wise boaters will regulate their speed even if there is no speed limit sign visible when the safety of a smaller craft so requires. Also give consideration to boats moored and drawn ashore.
According to the Penal Code of Finland, a person is considered guilty of waterway traffic intoxication if
A person using an intoxicant other than alcohol may also be guilty of waterway traffic intoxication so that his/her capacity to perform as required is impaired and the circumstances are such that the person in operating a boat poses a risk to the safety of others. A person operating a rowboat or a sail dinghy cannot be charged with waterway traffic intoxication.
The police use breathalysers in the surveillance of waterway traffic. If the breathalyser test indicates that there is reason to suspect the person of waterway traffic intoxication, the suspect can be taken to the nearest police department for a precision breathalyser test or to a health centre for a blood test.
Alcohol is a contributing factor in about a half of all drownings in Finland. Of those who drown after falling out of a boat, about 80% are intoxicated. Typical drowning victims fall overboard, fall into the water when the vessel capsizes or overestimate the distance they can swim. The majority of drowning victims are middle-aged men.
Accidental drowning is always the sum of several factors. Being drunk increases the probability of an accident. Even a low level of intoxication will impair your judgment, reaction speed and coordination. Two beers double your accident risk; after five or six beers, your accident risk is ten times greater than normal. If pharmaceuticals are involved, the risk is of course many times greater.
The most important ‘equipment’ on the water consist of your common sense and care, but they are not enough. The boat must be seaworthy and properly equipped.
The following is compulsory equipment for all motor boats and for sailboats more than 5 metres long:
The fire extinguisher must comply with Standard EN 3 and its power category must be at least 8A 68B and it must be inspected every year. The law does not require passengers to wear life vests at all times, but in an emergency they are of no use unless you wear them.
An anchor and oars or a paddle are useful if you have engine problems. A bailer is important if the boat develops a leak. An up-to-date nautical chart is also an important safety device. Although not required, it is certainly recommended given how rocky Finland’s waterways are.
View the Police Tube’s Vinkkari video blog about boat equipment (in Finnish)
Visit Traficom’s website for instructions to boaters
Finnish Lifeboat Association’s website (in Finnish)
The police monitor heavy goods traffic in order to improve traffic safety as well as combat grey economy and transport-related crime.
Monitoring of heavy goods traffic focuses on factors that affect traffic safety:
In addition to improving traffic safety, heavy goods traffic is also monitored in order to
prevent transport-related crime
EU Directives also require the Member States to engage in monitoring of heavy goods traffic using specific forms of surveillance. These include roadside checks for daily driving times and rest periods, technical roadside inspections and inspections of transport of hazardous substances.
The police have for quite some time been engaging in preventive measures with various stakeholders in order to improve the safety of heavy goods traffic. This action has taken the form of training, communications, improving transport safety and joint legislative development, for instance.
The shared goal is that transports are run and supervised with professional skill and a high level of quality.
