Following reports that government has not pulled in the income it anticipated by hiking fines for traffic offences such as speeding, police have decided to reduce the threshold for issuing spot fines for speeding.
Starting in October, motorists who drive between seven and 20 kilometres per hour in excess of marked speed limits will receive summary fines for the infraction. The current threshold for spot fines is between eight and 20 kilometres per hour above the limit. Additionally motorists whose speed is between three and seven kilometres per hour above the limit will get off with a warning.
"The goal of police is to influence driving behaviour, so that average speed will fall, road accidents will be reduced and the repercussions will be less serious," police chief inspector Samppa Holopainen of the National Police Board said in a statement.
Last week, police noted that the administration’s plan to hike spot fines for traffic offences had already changed driving habits, as motorists eased off the gas pedal, resulting in fewer fines issued. The result also undermined the government’s plan to boost revenues by raising the fines.
Oversight at high-risk locations
Police said that they plan to intensify traffic monitoring, particularly at locations deemed to be high-risk, such as near daycare centres and schools, as well as in areas where road accidents tend to occur. Road users can also look forward to increased traffic enforcement in other areas.
The government has also moved away from citing finances as justification for the changes to traffic enforcement rules. According to a new decision-in-principle, the cabinet said that its goal is to halve the number of accident fatalities and injuries by the year 2020. The National Police Board says that Finland is still far from achieving that target.
Holopainen pointed out that the new threshold for cracking down on speeding is in line with averages in the rest of Europe.
"You can find higher and lower thresholds. For example, in Sweden the [lower] limit is six kilometres per hour," he noted.
The chief inspector said that a one-percentage change in average road speeds can result in a two-percentage change in the number of road injuries and a four-percentage change in the number of road fatalities.
