Winter time speed limit

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skanur
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2021 11:34 am

Winter time speed limit

Post by skanur » Sun Apr 04, 2021 8:40 am

I'm doing a long distance driving for the first time in Finland and I have couple of newbie questions on winter time speed limits.

1. Its 4th of Apr today and I believe winter speed limits are still active?
2. I was driving outside Rovaniemi towards Ranua yesterday. Speed limit board everywhere says limit is 100 km/hr. But winter limits are in force. So should I drive at 80? Or is it 100? Almost every one I encountered was driving at full 100 km/hr.
3. How do you know summer/winter restrictions have switched?

Thanks for your help.



Winter time speed limit

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betelgeuse
Posts: 4353
Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 1:24 am

Re: Winter time speed limit

Post by betelgeuse » Sun Apr 04, 2021 11:26 am

skanur wrote:
Sun Apr 04, 2021 8:40 am
I'm doing a long distance driving for the first time in Finland and I have couple of newbie questions on winter time speed limits.

1. Its 4th of Apr today and I believe winter speed limits are still active?
2. I was driving outside Rovaniemi towards Ranua yesterday. Speed limit board everywhere says limit is 100 km/hr. But winter limits are in force. So should I drive at 80? Or is it 100? Almost every one I encountered was driving at full 100 km/hr.
3. How do you know summer/winter restrictions have switched?
You drive according to the signs and let road maintainers deal with changing them.

skanur
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2021 11:34 am

Re: Winter time speed limit

Post by skanur » Sun Apr 04, 2021 2:53 pm

Thanks betelgeuse.

A follow up. What is the meaning of "general speed limit is reduced to 80km/hr all over Finland during winter"? This info is repeated in several websites (e.g.
https://www.visitfinland.com/article/dr ... /#eb2a8f00).

When there is no sign outside built up area, the speed is anyway 80km/hr. So when does that sentence apply?

betelgeuse
Posts: 4353
Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 1:24 am

Re: Winter time speed limit

Post by betelgeuse » Sun Apr 04, 2021 8:49 pm

skanur wrote:
Sun Apr 04, 2021 2:53 pm
A follow up. What is the meaning of "general speed limit is reduced to 80km/hr all over Finland during winter"? This info is repeated in several websites (e.g.
https://www.visitfinland.com/article/dr ... /#eb2a8f00).

When there is no sign outside built up area, the speed is anyway 80km/hr. So when does that sentence apply?
It’s bad wording. Hundred signs get changed to eighty (with some exceptions).

riku2
Posts: 1045
Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2008 10:13 pm

Re: Winter time speed limit

Post by riku2 » Wed Apr 07, 2021 7:05 am

The page is wrong about the "general" speed limit. It stays the same all year round, unposted roads outside of built up areas are always 80. The page implies the "general" speed limit changes and is reduced in the winter which is not true.
The general speed limit in Finland is 50 km/h in built-up areas and 80 km/h outside... In winter the general speed limit is reduced everywhere to 80 km/h
The summer/winter change anyway is not done on every road at the same time or across all parts of the country at the same time.Some motorways have digital signs and I have seem them change to summer limits a few days before the metal signs are changed 15km further up the motorway.

And the motorways can have lower limits too, here's a clip from February and the signs on the motorway north of Helsinki were 60 (in the winter they are normally 100 or 80 in bad weather). Although having seen all the accidents on the other side of the road I was only doing 50 due to frozen rain coating everything. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bdy3TLVI3Q


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