Two hundred drivers collect fines for using mobile phones while behind the wheel

Police at a loss in the face of public perceptions of the law

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Results from a police crackdown in Helsinki on Monday show that nearly 200 drivers were using mobile phones illegally while behind the wheel.
      Several checkpoints were placed in Mechelininkatu, Huopalahdenkatu, and other fairly busy streets in downtown Helsinki to give a picture of drivers' use of mobile phones while driving. The observations of drivers holding a hand-held mobile phone behind the wheel were reported to the halt points, where an on-the-spot fine of EUR 50 was imposed on the offenders.
     
Nearly all drivers reacted calmly to the fines, explaining their behaviour in a number of ways. The prevailing attitude appeared to be that "everybody does it - I just happened to get caught". Naturally this sentiment was not disclosed to the police officers themselves - only to the journalists following the raid.
     
Within one hour some 30 drivers were caught in Mechelininkatu alone, and a total of 187 fines were imposed during the one-day surveillance.
      "Now we can say that the problem will not be resolved by using surveillance alone. When a large number of drivers devise their own interpretations of the regulations, it is something we will have to think over", says Sgt. Martti Miekkoniemi from the Helsinki Police Department.
     
According to the interviews conducted by Liikenneturva, the Central Organization for Traffic Safety in Finland, two in five drivers get involved in dangerous situations as a consequence of their use of mobile phones while driving.
      An Australian survey from 2005 indicated that the potential accident risk rate associated with the use of hand-held mobile phones is four times the average number - with or without a hands-free device.
     
In the 2000 to 2005 period, some five people have died every year on roads in Finland as a consequence of the use of mobile phones behind the wheel, according to accident statistics.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish motorists cut back on use of hands-free equipment (19.1.2005)

Links:
  Liikenneturva
  The Finnish Motor Insurers´ Centre

Helsingin Sanomat