Mastodawn

Tor Lillqvist Mar 1

@BrentToderian That was a statistical fluke. Between June 2024 and July 2025 there indeed were no fatal accidents. But that didn’t last. Not sure why this suddenly now, over half a year later, is doing the rounds again.

Instead of reporting statistical flukes, responsible journalists should report long-term trends. Those indeed are positive here in Helsinki. *That* is the good news here. Not that there happened to be a 12-month interval (not a calendar year) without a single fatal road accident.

Fabian Egli Mar 1

@tml @BrentToderian It is very relevant still - because this means that the overall incidence is so low that this "statistical fluke" can happen without waiting a million years.

Decrying it as purely a "statistical fluke" is dishonest.

After reading your post again, what puzzles me the most, is how you come to the conclusion that a 12 month period without fatalities is somehow not the good news.

>how [- -] 12 month period without fatalities is somehow not the good news.

Because while 12 months without deaths is "a" good news, it's not the "the" good news. If it were "the", there wouldn't have been deaths after those 12 months, either.

Thus "the" good news is that long-term statistics on traffic deaths are falling.

(Also note that Tor and me spend time at Helsinki, so we know what the realities are: there are still improvements to be made.)

Fabian Egli

@iju @tml @BrentToderian I do not subscribe to this level of criticism of the story. Both effects, the longer term decline AND the 12 months are good. There's absolutely no need to play one against the other. They are connected. I also didn't read anything about there being nothing left to improve.

And if it helps you read my comment as more than just some replyguy on the internet: I have recently spent time walking the city of Helsinki. It's fine. Some places are great, others not - yet.

Well, that's how I read the first post in the thread. And Tor too, I guess. It might not be well-deserved, but even at worst it's good to note that Helsinki didn't permanently resolve the problem.

Also for additional context: if you've spent time in Helsinki, then you surely know that one of t he big demarcations in the Helsinki City Council is if actions toward pedestrian safety are killing the city centre?

2/2

For example, the city is removing pedestrian crossings from the Mannerheim Road (the four-lane main path to and through the centre) to improve car speeds.

Experiment to carve out more space for pedestrians at the famous Esplanade by temporarily removing cars from one lane was highly critised, and the project to turn #1 pedestrian crossing (in front of the railway station) into a pedestrian zone is often named as the death blow for the area's stores.

Fabian Egli Mar 1

@iju @tml @BrentToderian The Article doesn't state Helsinki solved the problem. It's a bit more substantial. Reading only a headline and an excerpt may lead the sharpest mind astray.

As for the rest, I can't comment on the local politics of Helsinki. I also think this is getting off topic for this thread.