The video recording of traffic accidents

The video recording of real-life traffic accidents in Helsinki concerns two controlled junctions in the city centre. The actual research material of this study consists of eighteen (18) accidents recorded on video tape. Ten of these are pedestrian accidents and eight are motor vehicle accidents. Perhaps the most important lesson that can be learned from video-accidents is the central significance of so-called free vehicles. In general, neither pedestrians nor other crossing traffic collide with vehicles in queue. The special importance of free vehicles is quite decisive when the advantages and disadvantages of speed control in busy city centre traffic are compared. The reduction of the highest speeds effects just those free, most dangerous vehicles, whereas the effects on travel times for the majority in queues is very small. On the basis of the video-recorded pedestrian accidents, it is estimated that a strict adherence to the new 40 km/h speed limit would reduce the probability of a pedestrian death on Kaivokatu to almost one third. Travel times would be lengthened by only a few percent.