Costs have fallen according to the broadcaster.
However, at the end of last month, the Ministry of Transport and Communications announced its intention to “examine what types of legislative changes are needed to promote road safety among young people”. As the process has only just begun, the Ministry has not yet set any concrete targets for possible changes.
“The aim of a project is usually to enable young people to move safely and flexibly and to tear down the associated administrative burden.” Monika Mutanen, a senior inspector at the Ministry of Transport and Communications, summed up YLE.
“The project looks at, for example, the adequacy of teaching, testing and penalties to improve road safety.”
A report on the effects of the previous law was published in March. According to it, accidents involving young motorists decreased between 2019 and 2020. Injuries caused by people under the age of 17 while using a car increased last year.
“While most young people behave appropriately in traffic, we need to address these issues effectively,” Mutanen said.
Some other indicators also point in the wrong direction.
The number of driving licenses issued to young people has increased in recent years, despite a steady decline in the number of young people receiving a driving license. Last month, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency announced that only 54 per cent of 18-year-olds receive the most common so-called Class B driving license.
Finnish police, for their part, found in a report last year that although 15-24 year olds make up only 12 per cent of the population, they account for almost a third of all road traffic injuries.
The Finnish Road Safety Council considers that the law should be amended.
“One possibility would be to create a driver’s license at levels that give young people certain limited rights to a driver’s license,” said Pasi Anteroinen, CEO of the Road Safety Council. “This could mean, for example, that young people can only drive with an adult during the first few months after receiving a driver’s license. We could also limit more risky conditions, such as driving at night or driving only with teenagers in a car.”
According to him, a similar approach has been adopted in Denmark.
– Road safety for young people has increased significantly in the long term, but it is simply too slow. In this respect, we lag far behind the other Nordic countries, ”said Anteroinen.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page