Finland Aiming At Youngsters Road Behavior

                                                      Finnish police pushes for more young people prevention. PHOTO: POLIISI.FI22 МАR - Finnish police is increasing its efforts on young drivers screening on the road.

The primary aim is to highlight the perceived risk of apprehension among the road users.

Surveillance

“Besides specific traffic policing operations, the police surveillance and emergency operations also include traffic control tasks. Screening of drunken driving and controlling traffic behaviour of the young are important means available to the police in the efforts to improve traffic safety“, says ROADPOL Council member Pasi Rissanen, Assistant Commissioner at Finland Police. According to him traffic safety is promoted not only by traffic control, but the sense of being controlled.

Asst. Comm'r Pasi Rissanen. Risks

„Intoxicants, driving health and alertness as well as the young in traffic are among the core areas which the police want to impact through its traffic control and safety work both on the roads“, Rissanen continues. “Society should invest in the prevention of traffic-related deaths of the young. Fatal traffic accident situations caused by the young are normally characterized by several background factors, such as drunken driving and speeding. Intoxicants are a major risk factor in young drivers’ accidents, even if drunken driving is not a phenomenon typical of the young mainly. Traffic offences committed by the young, as any other types of youth criminality, are often a group phenomenon, i.e., the illegal acts are committed in groups searching pleasure and experiences, with a wish to show and to be seen“, the police commissioner explains.

Prevention

„Besides traffic-related offences, the police involved in traffic control must also actively try to detect other types of crime. Both traffic safety and criminality on the roads can be impacted effectively, using crime prevention and permit administration tools. Any police assignment may reveal indications of factors suggesting that the holder of the driver’s licence might not meet the respective health requirements. For example, an assignment related to mental health or use of intoxicants may suggest that a driving health check is in order“, Rissanen elaborates.