Helsinki, the capital city of Finland, has completed a full year without a single fatal traffic accident.
According to the World Economic Forum, the last traffic accident related death was reported in July 2024 and since then the city has remained safe for road travelling.
In 2022, Helsinki city officials opted for a 4-year multifaceted program to improve traffic safety and the program is already paying off.
The first and foremost step was to decrease the speed limits for the city and now more than half of the streets in Finland’s capital have a speed limit of 30km/h. It is a notable reduction as previously the speed limit was 50km/h.
Another step that helped achieve traffic safety was improvement in pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. The monitoring was enhanced to spot and penalise poor driving.
Helsinki has Europe’s highest rated public transport system which was enhanced more. These collective efforts didn’t just result in preventing fatalities, the injuries have also been reduced.
According to a report, the injuries from traffic related accidents have fallen by almost 75% in the last 40 years.
When many developed cities around the world struggle to improve their outdated transport infrastructure, Helsinki has come out as an example to follow.
The improvement in traffic safety of the capital city shows that investments, policy choices and citizen engagement can reduce risks.