this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2025
343 points (99.7% liked)

Europe

6875 readers
920 users here now

News and information from Europe ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ

(Current banner: La Mancha, Spain. Feel free to post submissions for banner images.)

Rules (2024-08-30)

  1. This is an English-language community. Comments should be in English. Posts can link to non-English news sources when providing a full-text translation in the post description. Automated translations are fine, as long as they don't overly distort the content.
  2. No links to misinformation or commercial advertising. When you post outdated/historic articles, add the year of publication to the post title. Infographics must include a source and a year of creation; if possible, also provide a link to the source.
  3. Be kind to each other, and argue in good faith. Don't post direct insults nor disrespectful and condescending comments. Don't troll nor incite hatred. Don't look for novel argumentation strategies at Wikipedia's List of fallacies.
  4. No bigotry, sexism, racism, antisemitism, islamophobia, dehumanization of minorities, or glorification of National Socialism. We follow German law; don't question the statehood of Israel.
  5. Be the signal, not the noise: Strive to post insightful comments. Add "/s" when you're being sarcastic (and don't use it to break rule no. 3).
  6. If you link to paywalled information, please provide also a link to a freely available archived version. Alternatively, try to find a different source.
  7. Light-hearted content, memes, and posts about your European everyday belong in other communities.
  8. Don't evade bans. If we notice ban evasion, that will result in a permanent ban for all the accounts we can associate with you.
  9. No posts linking to speculative reporting about ongoing events with unclear backgrounds. Please wait at least 12 hours. (E.g., do not post breathless reporting on an ongoing terror attack.)
  10. Always provide context with posts: Don't post uncontextualized images or videos, and don't start discussions without giving some context first.

(This list may get expanded as necessary.)

Posts that link to the following sources will be removed

Unless they're the only sources, please also avoid The Sun, Daily Mail, any "thinktank" type organization, and non-Lemmy social media. Don't link to Twitter directly, instead use xcancel.com. For Reddit, use old:reddit:com

(Lists may get expanded as necessary.)

Ban lengths, etc.

We will use some leeway to decide whether to remove a comment.

If need be, there are also bans: 3 days for lighter offenses, 7 or 14 days for bigger offenses, and permanent bans for people who don't show any willingness to participate productively. If we think the ban reason is obvious, we may not specifically write to you.

If you want to protest a removal or ban, feel free to write privately to the primary mod account @EuroMod@feddit.org

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Helsinki has not recorded a single traffic fatality in the past 12 months, city and police officials confirmed this week.

The city's most recent fatal accident occurred in early July 2024 on Keinulaudantie in the city's Kontula district.

Authorities are calling the situation exceptional.

"A lot of factors contributed to this, but speed limits are one of the most important," said Roni Utriainen, a traffic engineer with the city's Urban Environment Division.

...

According to Utriainen, more than half of Helsinki's streets now have a speed limit of 30 km/h. Fifty years ago, that proportion featured 50 km/h limits.

Earlier this summer, Helsinki decided to lower speed limits near schools to 30 km/h, a measure that is set to take effect as the academic year begins.

...

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[โ€“] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 25 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (31 children)

speed limits are one of the most important

I've seen a few YT videos that tell you the exact opposite. If you design the streets to feel "dangerous" to the driver, they will naturally pay attention, slow down and make the streets safer for everyone. You could plant some more tress, make the streets narrower etc.

Sure, people can't drive to places as fast, but that's not really a problem. If more people decide to use public transport instead, it's just going to make the city nicer for everyone.

[โ€“] a_new_sad_me@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I think, and this is not based on anything concrete, that if people drive slower, the traffic is more spread, and there are less accidents (and less stress) so there is less jams. Which means you actually get faster.

Of course, of you manage to direct more people to PT, then it is even better since, again, they will get faster (and less stressed)

[โ€“] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 days ago

Makes sense, but I'm not a traffic design engineer, so what do I know. I'm pretty sure traffic congestion has been studied extensively, so there should be a pretty good model on how they develop and what causes them. Speed might be one of those factors.

However, I have seen some videos about speed change causing congestion. Let's say someone panics because of a moose on a highway, breaks abruptly for a while, and then moves on. That spot will continue to have some sort of congestion long after the incident took place.

load more comments (29 replies)