The police will organise intensive control at pedestrian crossings from Monday to Friday, said National Police Board in a recent press release.
The police will also control how vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists comply with traffic rules and their safety.
Control will be targeted in particular at whether vehicle drivers comply with pedestrian crossing rules. The police will also actively monitor the behaviour of cyclists and operators of light e-vehicles to see whether they ride on the pavement and whether they heed give-way rules and traffic lights.
“During the week-long campaign, we will also intervene in stopping and parking that inconveniences and endangers the mobility of vulnerable road users,” said Chief Superintendent of the National Police Board Heikki Kallio.
“Vulnerable road users accounted for 34% of road traffic fatalities in Finland last year. This figure includes motorised two-wheeler vehicles. This is why the safety of these road user groups must constantly be the focus of traffic safety work,” Kallio said.
According to Statistics Finland, a total of 517 cyclists, 249 pedestrians and 504 motorcyclists were injured (incidents of which the police are aware) in road traffic last year.
”It’s worth remembering that the police are not made aware of all accidents involving cyclists, especially single-vehicle accidents, where no other parties are involved, and so these are not recorded in official statistics. The truth is that the number of persons injured is considerably higher than the official statistics indicate,” Kallio said.
The term vulnerable road user (VRU) is in international use and means for example pedestrians, cyclists, users of personal mobility devices such as electric scooters, as well as less protected road users such as moped riders.
- Pedestrian crossings
- Monitoring
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
