"Over the past five years, we've observed a declining trend in the number of traffic accidents resulting in injuries in central Tallinn. This is very positive. In numerical terms, it means 23 fewer pedestrians have been injured, a decrease of 43 percent compared to the previous and the year before last. Traffic accidents involving cars have dropped by a quarter, from 102 last year to 75 this year. However, the number of accidents involving light personal transport vehicles has remained the same, with 77 injured both last year and this year, though a downward trend began last year and has stabilized," said Taavi Kirss, head of traffic supervision at the North Prefecture.

Kirss explained that one of the premises for lowering speed limits was to address areas where different road users intersect, where traffic density is higher and where users move at varying speeds – conditions that increase the risk of accidents. "By reducing speed in these areas, it's possible to mitigate the risk of accidents," Kirss said.

"This project might demonstrate that by changing certain attitudes and principles, it's possible to make traffic safer," he added.

As for whether the reduced-speed zones in Tallinn should be expanded, Kirss suggested that this needs to be assessed on an ongoing basis. "Looking at Tallinn today, the urban space is evolving quite rapidly toward greater safety. Some compromises must be made among road users, and decisions on where to apply restrictions or expand these zones should be evaluated carefully," Kirss concluded.

Violations up

According to Kirss, the police have identified over 2,000 more traffic violations this year compared to last year, with instances of speeding increasing by one and a half times. "Speeding does happen, but I think the main positive outcome of reducing speed limits is that people are more aware of dangerous situations, they can react faster, the number of injuries has decreased and the severity of injuries has also been reduced," said Kirss.

The number of drivers running red lights has also risen, Kirss noted. "Tallinn has two intersections equipped with traffic light cameras, one in Kristiine and the other on Reidi tee. At these locations, we have detected around 2,000 violations, plus additional cases identified by police patrols. But looking at the data yesterday, I was surprised to see a significant increase in detected violations, particularly from camera monitoring."

In total, according to Kirss, traffic cameras have recorded 21,000 violations. The activation of the cameras on Reidi tee alone has contributed to an 18,000-violation increase.

"These 21,000 violations detected by cameras in Tallinn show that our traffic culture is still poor and needs serious attention," Kirss concluded.

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