Did they get license to kill? Buses and Lorries!!

[S.richard]

Most of them don't care when they change lanes. They just blink and enter into another lane. No checking of blind spots or anything else, because they are king. We have to give them space by sacrificing our small life.Talking about the behavior of most of the Buses and lorry driver . Last day in Highway Turunväylä in Espoo, I was about to die. Suddenly I saw the lorry that was in my right side entered into my lane and was about to hit me. To save my life I had to abruptly go to my left lane. No accident occurred because there was no traffic in my left. If there were any,or in my left there were opposite direction lane , I would not get the opportunity to write this post. After that the whole day I was looking at my child face and feeling very depress.

I have been hearing such from long time. Could not we do some movement regarding this? Higher priority traffic does not mean it has got the license to kill. Waiting to listen from others.

[riku2]

This attitude "bigger vehicles have priority over smaller ones" is what you see in India a lot but also finland. I've had two door mirrors ripped off by trucks driving carelessly/recklessly. In both cases I called the police and justice was served to the driver of the truck (one on the spot, the other I had to follow to the airport post office warehouse). There are also plenty of truck drivers on the phone not paying attention and driving onto the motorway on the assumption that vehicles on there will give way to you is common in finland, although not just for truck drivers but car drivers do that also.
Answer is to get a nice big company car like a BMW 5 series and let them hit you. if they are in a small car then physics will dictate they will end up worse off (especially if they are in a fiat or other cheaply built rubbish).
I would not swerve to the left lane - you then cause an accident and the truck driver drives off into the distance. do you think he will stop and come and admit to causing an accident where there is no damage to his vehicle?

Same for driving off the road and swerving off and hitting a tree because someone comes around a country lane towards you in the middle of the road (as almost all drivers do in the countryside here). Cars are softer to hit than trees so brake and stay on the road. Hopefully the other driver has their seatbelt on since there will be quite a mess in their car otherwise (will teach them a lesson anyway if they live through it).

when i'm cycling in the countryside I would say 30% of cars go around bends keeping to their side of the road, 50% have two wheels over the middle line,20% are completely on the wrong side of the road when taking bends.

[Liam1]

Agree - though you mentioned buses. They are allowed to pull out from bus stops on urban roads (think if speed limit is 60 or less). Some still abuse this or at least don't apply common sense by pulling out when you are halfway past them.

Having driven in most countries in Europe I don't think lorry drivers are any worse here - that doesn't make them polite though - just the general law of physics that means big things have a "natural" right of way is universally applied!!!

[ritan7471]

20% are completely on the wrong side of the road when taking bends.

My husband does that and it's terrifying.

[Y77]

and:
-nobody,not even the police, stop at pedestrian crossing
-about 40% use the phone when driving,so far this summer I also saw 4 people eating ice cream while driving
-don't get me started on white van men

i would say let's concentrate less on drink driving and more on these types of behaviour that could have horrible consequences

[Adrian42]

and:
-nobody,not even the police, stop at pedestrian crossing

Just walk, and the cars will stop.

What else would you have expected to work?
When you have a pedestrian crossing on a street with three lines in each direction (we have that in Helsinki), it would be insane if there would have to be cars waiting on all lines before the pedestrian starts walking.

[Upphew]

Just walk, and the cars will stop.

This. It is mega-annoying when people start to dance before the zebra crossing. Just keep on walking at your current speed and make the cars stop. And keep in your mind that in collision pedestrian loses.

[Adrian42]

Just walk, and the cars will stop.

This. It is mega-annoying when people start to dance before the zebra crossing. Just keep on walking at your current speed and make the cars stop. And keep in your mind that in collision pedestrian loses.

That's the wrong mindset - keep in mind that no driver wants all the hassle associated with having killed a pedestrian.

Just adjust your speed so that it is clear for the drivers that they have to stop (and don't think they might have a chance to squeeze through in front or behind you).

After a few decades bicycling in towns giving car drivers the clear choice "either you do what I want or you have to kill me" is such a natural thing for me (I do that many times each day) that I'm always surprised that there are people for whom that is not a natural thing to do...

[riku2]

and:
-nobody,not even the police, stop at pedestrian crossing

Just walk, and the cars will stop.

What else would you have expected to work?
When you have a pedestrian crossing on a street with three lines in each direction (we have that in Helsinki), it would be insane if there would have to be cars waiting on all lines before the pedestrian starts walking.

What else would you expect? that you stand next to the crossing and cars voluntarily stop - like they do in France, the UK, Austria and plenty of other countries. In those countries you need to be careful not to loiter near crossings looking like you might cross, since cars will stop and drivers get a bit annoyed if you just happen to be standing next to the crossing but don't intend to cross the road.

And a pedestrian crossing on a street with a huge number of lanes like you mention. total madness to design a road like that. there should at least be an island to break it up into smaller parts for people to cross halfway - not make a mad dash across in one go. However I have seen this style of crossing in Rome - you seem to take your life into your hands. I think in helsinki there are these kind on Mannerheimintie and also outside the presidents palace. If it's wet weather there is no way the cars will stop in time - and that's assuming they are paying attention and not on the phone. I have seen plenty of cars go straight through red lights because the driver is on the phone, let alone going across pedestrian crossings.

Finland comes bottom of the league for road safety compared to all Nordic countries - no surprise when you see how the locals drive. This comparison includes Norway so no weasling out of it by saying the climate is responsible for the roads being more dangerous.

On the other hand thanks to their hopeless way of using roundabouts and joining motorways then there are traffic jams in the hki area where there would not be traffic jams in countries with better driving manners, so the car drivers get their just desserts by enduring traffic jams that would otherwise not exist.

[Adrian42]

What else would you expect? that you stand next to the crossing and cars voluntarily stop - like they do in France, the UK, Austria and plenty of other countries. In those countries you need to be careful not to loiter near crossings looking like you might cross, since cars will stop and drivers get a bit annoyed if you just happen to be standing next to the crossing but don't intend to cross the road.

If you want them used that way, they should be replaced with traffic lights.

I think in helsinki there are these kind on Mannerheimintie and also outside the presidents palace. If it's wet weather there is no way the cars will stop in time

The pedestrian is not supposed to suddenly jump in front of a car.

They work very well as long as the pedestrian has enough confidence to use them properly.

I have seen plenty of cars go straight through red lights because the driver is on the phone,

That's a separate issue.

[Y77]

the question that I find more interesting is:why the average finn,normally a man of few words,has the urge of talking over the phone as soon as he(or she)gets behind the wheel? Does David Attenborough have the answer?

[Upphew]

the question that I find more interesting is:why the average finn,normally a man of few words,has the urge of talking over the phone as soon as he(or she)gets behind the wheel? Does David Attenborough have the answer?

As above average one I can't answer to you. Nor the phone, so don't bother calling.

[Flossy1978]

What's wrong with eating an ice cream while driving?

If you want to compare Indian drivers with Finnish.... Well.... The Finns will win at being better. I've seen how Indians drive on Youtube, Jesus Christ it's horrific. My friend an Indian didn't even get a license properly. Her Father bribed some official to get it for her. When she moved here she paid to learn how to drive 'properly'.

People are pretty decent drivers here. I am sorry, but I think that way.

[Flossy1978]

And I think it's anything under 80km / hr you must give way to a bus pulling out of it's stop. Maybe it is 60 km / hr.

But I think many Finns are very polite and will shift lanes if they can even if they don't need to when a bus is merging into traffic. Or they'll even slow down to let them out. The same with some on ramps. Many people will move over to allow people to merge into the traffic.

[007]

My friend an Indian didn't even get a license properly. Her Father bribed some official to get it for her.

that sh*t happens all over South Asia! and the results are utterly bad traffics.

But I think many Finns are very polite and will shift lanes if they can even if they don't need to when a bus is merging into traffic.

Shifting lanes because someone else is merging into the lane is wrong practice, also unlawful in Finland afaik.