Police to launch anti-over speeding drive at weekend

The police will monitor driving speeds in traffic from Friday to Sunday, said the National Police Board on Thursday.

The focus of enforcement will be on detecting all speeding and the behaviour of young people in traffic.

On Friday, Finnish police will take part in the European Roads Policing Network Roadpol’s speed control marathon, when speed enforcement will be intensified throughout the day in all Roadpol member states, in almost 30 countries.

The police will monitor driving habits and speeds, with a focus on young people, since young people aged between 15 and 24 in particular are over-represented in traffic accidents.

Most fatal accidents resulting in the death of young people occur on Friday nights and almost as many on Saturday nights.

Relative to the population, the risk of death of young drivers is three times higher than that of the population as a whole.

Last year, 34 young people under the age of 25 lost their lives on the road. This is almost 20% of all road fatalities.

“Too high or inappropriate speed is a contributing factor in around a third of fatal road accidents,” said Chief Superintendent of the National Police Board of Finland Heikki Kallio.

Accidents at higher speeds cause far more damage than accidents at lower speeds.

“Causing a serious traffic hazard typically involves excessive speeding, more than 50 km/h over the permitted speed. Every year, the police record around two thousand young drivers aged 17-24 as suspects in causing a serious traffic hazard,” Kallio added.

Young people account for almost half (45%) of all suspects recorded in causing a serious traffic hazard.

Both overall and among young people, men account for up to 90% of suspects in incidents causing a serious traffic hazard.