(Not) seeing red in Helsinki

Nearly one in two Helsinki pedestrians risk life and limb by crossing the road before the lights change

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One in eight Finnish pedestrians ignore the signs on light-operated crossings, according to a report published on Friday by Liikenneturva, the country's central organisation for traffic safety work. Regional differences are large, to say the least. In the capital Helsinki, as many as 42% of pedestrians will cross the road even when no green light is showing.
      In Mikkeli, meanwhile, they are conspicuously more careful: there 99% allegedly only cross on green. Similar figures of over 90% were recorded in Kouvola, Vaasa, Joensuu, and Rovaniemi.
     
Men are less willing than women to wait for the little man on the lights to change colour, but the gap between the genders (83%/89%) is not particularly significant.
      Age does not seem to play a part in the willingness or otherwise to play it safe and by the book.
     
This year's figures of 87% are close to the average for this decade, which has seen around 85% adherence.
      The monitoring was carried out in late May and early June. Eleven towns and cities were examined, and more than 12,500 observations were made.
     
Liikenneturva notes that children tend to adopt the habits of their parents in such matters, and urges a change in behaviour to pass on a good example.
      A total of 53 pedestrians died in traffic accidents in 2008, five more than in the previous year. More than half of the victims were over the age of 65.
      Some 28% of all the deaths occurred on pedestrian crossings.


Links:
  Liikenneturva

Helsingin Sanomat