Helsinki’s zero road deaths show how the UK could save lives again

Helsinki has just done something remarkable: gone a full year without a single road death. The Finnish capital’s success can be credited to lower speed limits, safer street design, investment in public transport - but a common thread runs through them: enforcement. Cameras are part of that picture.

It’s worth remembering that the UK once knew how to make similar progress. Between 2000 and 2010, road deaths here almost halved. That wasn’t luck. It was political will - and investment in proven measures like a nationwide roll-out of speed and red-light cameras. Nationally, road fatalities fell from 3,409 in 2000 to 1,857 by 2010 - very nearly making good on New Labour's pledge to halve road deaths.

Then came the 2010 coalition government, pledging to “end the war on the motorist”. Central funding for cameras was cut; some counties switched them off entirely. In Oxfordshire, speeding rose almost immediately after the cameras went dark. Nationally, the steady decline in deaths flattened out, and it has stayed stubbornly level ever since.

We’re now in danger of forgetting what’s possible. Helsinki’s achievement isn’t a utopian one-off - it’s the result of choices. The UK has been here before, with a clear-eyed strategy, measurable targets and the political courage to face down the “cash cow” headlines.

Lower speeds don’t just protect people walking and cycling; they make streets safer for all road users, including drivers. Collisions are less likely, and when they do happen, they’re far less likely to be fatal. Slower traffic also flows more smoothly, reducing stop-start congestion and making journey times more predictable - so even drivers benefit. Add in quieter streets, cleaner air and more liveable neighbourhoods, and it’s a rare example of a policy that improves safety, health, climate, and community life at minimal cost.

The question for Keir Starmer’s Labour government is whether road safety will once again be treated as the public health and social justice issue it is - or whether a decade of preventable deaths will be allowed to tick by, unchallenged.

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