Helsinki has announced an unprecedented result: over the past year, no one died on the city’s roads. This outcome is the result of many years of work that began in the 1980s.
The authorities actively developed public transport, making it more convenient and accessible, which reduced residents’ dependence on cars. Speed limits were gradually lowered, reaching 30 km/h on many streets. At the same time, engineers and planners redesigned the street network: they created safer routes for pedestrians and cyclists, and introduced surveillance cameras and speed-control systems.
Helsinki recorded its first notable success in 2019, when no pedestrians died over the course of the year. Now the city has achieved a complete absence of road deaths for the first time in decades. That means dozens of lives saved thanks to careful planning.
