driving in Finland

[Scyepogg]

Is it true that everyone drives at 80 kmh outside towns and there's no possibility at all to drive faster?

[Nakoda Silverhoof]

Umm. No.

80km/h is the "standard" speed outside urban areas, but there are lots of roads where you can go 100km/h and 120km/h is quite normal on highways.

During the winter they lower the speed limits though due to snow and ice, 100km/h becomes 80km/h and 120km/h becomes 100km/h.

[Scyepogg]

What I mean, no one ever exceeds the limit?

[Nakoda Silverhoof]

Of course they do, who cares about speed limits as long as the police doesn't see you...

[Scyepogg]

Last time I was there, I remember being shocked by everyone sticking to the rules. Are there many speed controlling cameras?

[The Deserted Grail]

Aside from the area surrounding the "Grand Helsinki" area (Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo) the speed limit is usually 80 km/h, but most people I've seen drive around 90-100 km/h on those roads. Those roads also have quite a bit of speed controlling cameras, but most people just slow down when they see one and speed back up right after it.

Helsinki itself is a bit mazey, but people stick to the rules a lot better and drive calmer than in most other cities I've seen (Paris, Dubrovnik, two cities in Tunisia and one in Spain that I can't remember the names).

[Haagen]

Compared to other Europe, yeah people in the Nordic countries tend to obey the traffic rules and speed limits. There are lots of traffic cameras, but most of them are not in use. The equipment is so expensive, that the police need to rotate the cameras inside the boxes.

Then there's the occasional police sometimes hiding in a bush with the camera. Grail, once you see the camera sign, it's usually already too late to slow down if you're speeding. There's a camera always on the other side of the road for the traffic going to the other direction and that camera will catch you, since as soon as you see it, it will see you too. (If I remember correctly)

The road to Hanko is notorious for its million cameras.

[The Deserted Grail]

As brilliant as that sounds, I can't imagine it could be true. My father has a lot of friends, but one in particular likes driving at rather insane speeds on the roads everywhere, but rarely receives tickets because he manages to hit the brakes well before the camera and then immediately speeds up after it. The guy's age is somewhere around 65-75 so assuming he has a common eyesight for a person of that age, my best guesses are that he either remembers the locations of most cameras or that the camera system does indeed allow you off by simple slowing down when you notice it.

[Kugar]

With my mother in the police force for the past 35 years, I know a few good tips when you see a police camera. We don't have fixed ones yet in Denmark (a few test ones I believe), but only ones in neutral undercover cars with dark windows that drive around and take pictures. These cameras will not work if you don't drive steadily over a distance. If you repeatedly break and speed up the measurement will come up wrong, and therefore you will not get a ticket, even if you probably deserved it.

[Scyepogg]

From what I've seen here in Finland, most cameras are situated about 2 km after the sign warning you about it, and locals still drive about 10 km/h faster than it is allowed.