Finnish road builders have achieved excellence in the difficult task of creating high-quality road surfaces. From the point of view of drivers in many countries, Finnish roads are almost ideal. But still, driving on these roads in winter requires a certain skill.
Finland is located in that part of the land where, for more than six months, there is a collision of warm air masses from the Atlantic and the icy winds of the North. Even in the midst of winter, a thaw can suddenly begin, which will just as quickly be replaced by snowfall and frost.
Natural phenomena that are potentially dangerous for automobile traffic constantly occur here. Therefore, the Finnish National Road Administration pays special attention to studying the condition of roads, warning drivers about danger and developing rules for using vehicles in certain conditions.
This insidious temperature
You can often see special thermometers on the side of Finnish roads. They show the air temperature ( ilma) and road surface ( tie). Finnish drivers, seeing that the road temperature is below zero, and the air temperature is higher, reduce their speed - they know that under these conditions, “black ice” may form on the road.
This is the name given to a thin ice crust on the road surface, which forms the moisture that condenses on a cold road. This ice is practically invisible on the road - and it is very difficult to distinguish a wet road from an icy one. The car, hitting a strip of “black ice”, instantly loses control. “Black ice” most often occurs at the beginning of a thaw.
Another dangerous phenomenon in winter is freezing rain. Drops of water falling through a layer of cold air cool to below zero, but do not freeze. However, at the first contact with tree branches, wires or roads, the drops instantly freeze, forming a thin ice crust. A sharp drop in temperature, a glassy shine in the headlights of roadside bushes and trees, and a change in the sound of droplets on the windshield warns of the appearance of freezing rain - it becomes hard.
For safety's sake
All roads in Finland are divided into three categories based on the quality of their service. Roads of the highest category are cleared of snow and treated with salt first, then secondary roads are cleaned, and only then country roads. Roads of the highest category most often remain without snow all winter, but secondary and country roads find themselves under a compacted snow crust by mid-winter.
Such roads are generously sprinkled with granite chips, which provide better wheel grip than river sand. The most difficult areas are also sprinkled with crumbs - entrances to bridges, road junctions, intersections, in general, those places where there is a change in traffic speed and mandatory changes of cars.
It should be remembered that no matter what the road is, the driver is still responsible for safety in Finland. In the event of an accident, difficult road conditions may be a contributing factor, but not the cause of the accident. After all, the rules say that the driver must choose the speed in accordance with the road conditions. That is why you should monitor the technical condition of your car - in particular its tires.
Time for winter tires
According to the Finnish Road Administration, in winter, that is, from December 1 to March 1, winter tires, preferably studded, must be used in Finland. Studded tires are recommended for all inexperienced drivers during this period. The rest of the time, the use of winter tires with studs is permitted from November 1 to March 31, and longer if appropriate weather conditions exist.
In addition, studded tires are most effective when driving on roads covered with a layer of compacted snow. But on asphalt, the benefits of studs are reduced. Therefore, Finnish tire manufacturers offer drivers a new generation of so-called friction tires. These tires do not stud, but have a special rubber coating that can change its properties depending on temperature conditions, and has an increased coefficient of friction, including with respect to ice.
For example, the Finnish Hakkapeliitta R is inferior to studded tires on bare ice, but wins on asphalt covered with a mess of snow, salt and water. A big plus is that it can be used both in Finland, where it is advisable to ride on spikes in winter, and in Germany, where spikes are prohibited. Finnish tire makers are proud that the new tire has reduced rolling resistance while maintaining braking performance.
However, the friction properties of a tire deteriorate as it wears out, so when buying tires, ask again what tread height is considered critical for a tire in order to use it as winter tires.
You can find out about road weather, road works and many important things on the website of the Finnish Road Administration.
On the site in Finnish, English and partly in Russian, you can get live weather reports and even see the roads of Finland yourself using a network of road cameras. As for the traffic rules, we recommend visiting the website of the Finnish Road Safety Service.
If you need to provide first aid in an emergency, call the Rescue Service by calling 112. English is the working language of this service. If an accident occurs and there are no casualties, contact the local police by calling 118.
Have a nice trip!
Special thanks for consultations to the Finnish Road Administration and Mr. Pauli Haimi.
Text: Konstantin Ranks
"Avtostolitsa" learned how Finno-Ugric brothers fight snow in their cities
An ordinary day in an ordinary Finnish city of Lappeenranta. The photo clearly shows that the rotary attachment of the tractor throws snow from the roadway over the sidewalk. Neither the road itself nor the pedestrian path have been cleared to asphalt.
In Russia, winter is traditionally the time for complainers. The population complains about snow and ice on the roads. Special services fight ice by generously sprinkling transport and pedestrian arteries with a mixture of sand and salt. Complainants are unhappy with neither. Salt, in their opinion, corrodes cars and shoes, sand becomes the main stain. Complainants traditionally point to neighboring Europe and, in particular, Finland, whose climate is similar to Russia. In this regard, DENIS TYURKIN became interested in the road services of the Finno-Ugric brothers: how do they deal with ice? Do they sprinkle sand? Or salt? Or something else?
Interlocutors
Through complex, intricate schemes, thanks to religious figures, book publishers and the World Wide Web, the “S” correspondent reached two residents of blessed Finland, who act as our experts in this material. Mentally shake their hands. Yucca Repo. He is engaged in the automobile business and has his own license plate production company. By the way, he lived for some time in Russia - in St. Petersburg and... Saransk. Now he lives in the village of Muukko near the city of Lappeenranta. This place is notable for its karting track, named after the great Finnish racer Kimmi Raikkonen. The Formula 1 pilot trained in Lappeenranta in his youth, so having a karting track there comes in handy...
The second expert is Matti Himmi, a sort of chief road engineer in the municipality of Lappeenranta. It is responsible for cleaning and maintaining all local transport arteries. Lappeenranta is inferior to Saransk in terms of the number of inhabitants - approximately 80 thousand, but significantly exceeds it in area. If the capital of Mordovia occupies 71.6 square kilometers, then the Finnish city is more than 1,700 “squares”! And even if we subtract 200 square kilometers of water surface, then the remaining area should impress a resident of Saransk. “The streets in Lappeenranta are larger, which means there is significantly more work for special services than in Saransk,” says Jukka Repo.
Saving
As Matti Himmi explains, in Finland they take into account how expensive snow removal will be. We can say that economic feasibility is at the forefront. In this regard, there are three ways. The first is cleaning the roadway with two trucks with dumps. The first one drives in the middle of the road, the second one cleans up the remains behind the first one, shoveling snow to the side of the road. The method is considered the most effective and economical. The second is cleaning with tractors with a rotary attachment, which throws snow several meters. And if trucks are the property of the municipality, then tractors belong to private owners. In winter, the city enters into an agreement with the owners of such vehicles. In the summer, snow removal equipment is removed from tractors and used in agriculture. This is also considered effective, because the equipment is used all year round, bringing benefits and not sitting idle in the garage. The third method is considered the most expensive. It is associated with the removal of snow outside the city by truck from those areas where it is necessary.
Now about what they sprinkle on roads and sidewalks in Finland. Significant highways and major streets are treated with pure salt. True, as Matti Himmi notes, this technology is gradually being eliminated from life in the country, since it is harmful to the environment: artesian springs are polluted, the soil is damaged... Sidewalks, pedestrian and bicycle paths (yes, Suomi residents do not abandon two-wheeled vehicles even in winter! ) are sprinkled only with granite chips and nothing more: they are not treated with salt! As for the sand. It can only be used on small village roads; it is not used in cities.
With and without spikes
Snow is specially left on secondary rural paths so as not to damage the surface during cleaning. They try to clean other transport arteries down to the asphalt, but without fanaticism, so as not to damage the coating. In cities, there is generally no direct requirement for road workers to clean roads down to asphalt. This is simply not necessary, since the vast majority of passenger cars in Finland are equipped with studded tires in winter. According to Jukka Repo, such car enthusiasts help those who drive friction tires without studs. How? The metal loosens the ice, improving grip! This is the opinion. Here's an interesting trend. Recently, in northern countries like Sweden and Finland, the number of cars with studless tires has begun to increase. In this way, local drivers try to minimize the damage caused by spikes to the road surface. And officials also explain to them that buying cheaper tires, which are friction tires, is economically beneficial. But there are no strict legal restrictions in this regard yet, so most people drive the old fashioned way - with spikes.
The main conclusion that our experts draw is not how well the roads in Finland are cleaned. And what kind of car tires do the Finns use to make their trip safe? That is, the emphasis is on the driver’s awareness and his attitude towards winter driving. By the way, in this country there is a rule prohibiting the use of winter tires with a remaining tread depth of less than 6 millimeters. If you fail to comply, you will receive a large fine! For comparison, in Russia only on January 1, 2015, the “winter tire standard” came into force, but it is much softer. In our country, the remaining tread depth can be 4 mm.
Speed
Do the speed limits on Finnish highways change in winter? Yes. According to Jukka Repo, on highways where the maximum speed limit in summer is 100 km/h, in winter it is prohibited to accelerate over 80 km/h. On new major highways built in the last five years, the limit is flexible depending on the current weather. Some areas there have their own miniature weather stations. According to their testimony, road workers set speed limits and warn drivers about this using interactive electronic boards that stand on the highway. For example, during a conversation with Finnish experts, which took place on February 2, it was freezing rain and poor visibility on the outskirts of Lappeenranta. The situation was difficult, so the road workers decided to set a low speed limit. In cities in winter, nothing changes; there the limit is from 30 to 60 km/h. “Of course, if it’s slippery, people try to drive more quietly,” says Jukka Repo. - When I lived in your country, I was amazed at some Russians who, even in icy conditions, allowed themselves to accelerate to 100 km/h and above. This is unacceptable".
By the way
According to Jukka Repo, in Finland there is such a procedure: if you break, for example, your leg when you slipped, then your treatment is paid for by the company responsible for cleaning the area where you were unlucky enough to fall.
“People in Finland are responsible for their work,” says the businessman. - Personal responsibility motivates. If I work well, it means that no one falls on my territory and I will not need to pay compensation. But if it’s bad, then I won’t have any money left to live on.”
Every high-rise building in this country has a building management council, which includes active residents. They contract with third-party cleaning companies and make decisions for their neighbors.
Winter speed limits
In winter there are special restrictions in Finland. The maximum permissible speed on the highway is 80 km/h, on the highway - 100 km/h.
The Finnish Transport Agency estimates that winter restrictions save 14 lives every year.
Finnish traffic rules can be found in Russian at the Finnish Road Safety Education Organization Liikenneturva.
Watch the thermometers
The weather in Finland likes to spoil drivers with unpleasant surprises. Therefore, the National Road Administration pays special attention to studying road conditions and warning drivers.
Thermometers are installed on the roadsides that show the temperature of the air (ilma) and the road surface (tie). If the road temperature is below zero and the air temperature is higher, drivers themselves reduce their speed: they know that under these conditions the formation of “black ice” is possible - a thin crust into which moisture turns when it condenses on a cold road.
This ice is almost invisible, and it is difficult to distinguish a wet road from an icy one. The car, hitting a strip of “black ice”, instantly loses control. “Black ice” most often occurs at the beginning of a thaw.
Air temperature (ilma) and road temperature (tie), as well as traffic information, can be found on-line, on the website of the traffic authority alk.tiehallinto.fi (images from 146 video cameras installed on Finnish roads).
Another dangerous phenomenon is freezing rain. Drops of water falling through a layer of cold air cool to sub-zero temperatures, but do not freeze. However, at the first contact with tree branches, wires or the road, they instantly turn into an ice crust.
A sharp drop in temperature, a glassy sheen in the headlights of roadside bushes, and a change in the sound of droplets on the windshield warns of the onset of freezing rain—it becomes hard.
REMINDER of the Finnish authorities about the Rules of the Road in Russian
All roads in Finland are divided into three categories based on the quality of their service. Roads of the highest category are cleared of snow first, then secondary roads are cleared, and only then the country roads, which by mid-winter find themselves under a compacted snow crust. Such roads are generously sprinkled with granite chips, which provide better wheel grip than river sand. The most difficult areas are also sprinkled with crumbs - entrances to bridges, road junctions, intersections - in general, those places where cars change lanes and change speed.
Spikes
By order of the road administration in winter, that is, from December 1 to March 1, you must drive in Finland on winter tires, preferably studded ones. Studded tires are effective when driving on roads covered with a layer of compacted snow. The use of friction rubber (“Velcro”) or all-season tires is allowed, but the Finns prefer to use studded tires in winter, as they consider them the most reliable.
Winter tires(or tires intended for year-round use, without studs). Mandatory application from 1.12. until 29.02. The use of winter tires without studs is allowed all year round. The pattern depth is at least 3 mm. This applies to all passenger cars and pickups registered abroad with a total weight of no more than 3,500 kg.
Application of spikes allowed only during the period from 1.11. until 31.03 or until the second Monday after Easter, unless this Monday falls earlier than March 31. The exception is cases when the use of winter and/or studded tires is due to weather conditions. For failure to comply with the rule, a forgetful driver may pay a very high fine.
Summer tires
Application allowed from 01.03. until 30.11. The pattern depth is at least 1.6 mm. Sometimes Finns measure the tire tread at the border, and due to seasonal discrepancies in the tires, you may simply not be allowed into the country.
Driving style
The Finnish driving style surprises Russians with its regularity. And it gives the result: the death rate on Finnish roads is three times lower than in Russia.
In Finland, there are special courses where drivers learn the features of winter driving. Briefly, they boil down to well-known rules:
always try to anticipate the development of the situation;
slow down before entering the turn;
do not make sudden movements with the steering wheel, gas, or brake; do not make ill-considered overtaking.
In winter, special attention should be paid to snow removal. Snowplows block most of the roadway, and overtaking such a vehicle on a regular road often ends in a collision with an oncoming car. Sometimes it makes sense to wait for the snow blower to go into the “pocket” at the bus station and let the “tail” of cars pass.
Remember that the hazard light in the car is installed not only to indicate stopping in the wrong place or after a collision. If you feel insecure, if there is a possibility of loss of control, turn on the emergency lights in any uncertain situation, demonstrating to others that not everything is okay with you.
It is also necessary to monitor the condition of the car - in particular, the windshield wipers must be in good working order and cleared of ice build-up, and anti-freezing liquid must be poured into the reservoir for watering the windshield.
Website of the Finnish Road Administration www.tiehallinto.fi
Website of the Finnish Road Safety Service www.liikenneturva.fi (there are pages in Russian).
The Finnish Road Service duty number is 0200 2100 (English).
In case of an accident, call the rescue service by calling 112 (English).
How is the fight against the elements going in other countries? This is something incredible!
In contact with
Classmates
Finland
Finnish roads are handled by the Road Administration (Finnish: Tiehallinto), an agency subordinate to the Ministry of Transport and Communications. A day before the upcoming snowfall, Department officials hold a meeting and analyze their reserves.
The road network is divided into five classes of winter maintenance, each of them has its own standards for the quality of work to eliminate slipperiness, the height of the snow cover and the uniformity of the ice layer.
The highest priority is given to the busiest highways and streets. By the beginning of the working day, the snow level should not exceed two (!) centimeters.
The method of spreading sand and other abrasive (hard and fine-grained) materials is called frictional: ice cannot be completely eliminated by this method, but road traction is improved.
The main condition for using this technology is that roads need to be cleaned almost to the asphalt immediately after or during a snowfall. All central streets of Helsinki are heated, and the parking system is well-functioning. But the main thing is information and accurate
calculation.
Helsinki after snowfall:
Salt is used mainly at 6,000 – 7,000 km (the total length of the public road network is 78,000 km). In areas close to groundwater, sodium chloride is replaced with a biodegradable deicing material.
One of the innovative solutions in clearing roads from snow is the use of snowplows with two side dumps, which makes it possible to clear snow from the roadway of a two-lane road with one machine, whereas previously this required two machines.
With the help of modern technology, the Finns clean roads at a speed of 80-90 kilometers per hour. Such machines are taken care of extremely carefully: they are stored in a heated hangar, equipment is changed there and maintenance is carried out. And repairs can only be done at a dealership: it’s expensive, but the cars last for two decades.
Sweden
Every year, 200 million euros are allocated from the budget for road maintenance.
Nationwide, winter road maintenance accounts for 65% of the annual budget. And this is quite a lot. In winter, road work involves 2,600 snowplows, 900 salt spreaders, 1,000 sand spreaders, 10 rotary snow blowers, as well as graders, forklifts and agricultural tractors.
In 2004, Sweden introduced a new method of dealing with snow, which was invented by the Swedish scientist Thorgeir Vaa. Fine sand in a ratio of 7 to 3 is mixed with hot water at 90–95 ° C and sprayed on the streets.
Hot sand melts into the snow and makes the surface rough. This treatment is enough for 3–7 days with a daily traffic of about 1,500 cars. The entire territory of Sweden is surrounded by a network of weather stations (today there are 770 stations) that provide information on weather conditions on the roads.
Based on this data, maps are drawn up to forecast the condition of roads.
USA and Canada
In North America, warning systems are of great importance.
In the States, the Clarrice System combines data from all federal highways, collected from more than 50,000 individual sensors at 2,200 weather stations in 38 states. The system transmits information to operators about weather conditions on various sections of the road so that prompt measures can be taken.
The second element is the Decision Support System (MDSS). It is designed to help road maintenance managers make timely decisions that are adequate to the prevailing road conditions.
The source for it is precisely the data collected by the Clarrice system. The third innovative element of the information system is the prompt informing of drivers about the road situation, weather conditions and possible alternative routes.
Americans and Canadians use one of the most effective methods of snow removal. A car with a special trailer and a bucket in front drives along the road; when it accelerates, its trailer turns across and thus clears the roadway.
Magnesium chloride, which is mined in the Great Salt Lakes in Utah, is used primarily to clean streets and sidewalks. MgCl2 contains less chlorine than other chlorides, and its efficiency is much higher at lower consumption.
In the winter of 2010, the state of Maryland spent $50 million on road cleaning, and the state of Virginia spent $79 million. In Canada, $1 billion is allocated annually for winter road maintenance.
Snowfall in Canada:
Japan
In the mountains of Japan, up to several meters of snow falls during the winter, and in cities - 15–20 cm per night. In places with hot springs, sprinklers are built into the road and water constantly flows during the snow, which is why it melts.
In those areas where such methods are ineffective, a different approach is used. First, a special machine with a drill drives into the snow, which makes a way for the rest of the equipment.
Excavators and snow-raking equipment immediately follow. Snow from the road is poured onto the slopes and leveled vertically with an excavator bucket.
As a result, by the end of winter, sidewalks and intercity roads turn into narrow snow canyons with walls 2 human heights or higher. At the same time, roads in Japan are not treated in any way, only the snow is cleared off.
Finns sometimes find quite successful solutions to various everyday issues. Finland is a northern country, so here, as in Russia, there is a lot of snow in winter. Too much snow and ice. This makes it difficult to drive safely in winter. Nokian winter tires alone are not enough here. In addition, past the cars there are also pedestrians and bicycles. Many believe that the only way to deal with ice and snow on the roads is to water the roadway and sidewalks with reagents, which melt the snow and ice, ensuring direct contact of the car's tires with the road. However, there are other interesting methods that are used in Finland and which we will tell you about today.
Various chemical reagents, even such as salt, of course clean the road, but at the same time cause significant harm to the environment: they damage the cars themselves and shoes. Many people are very unhappy because their car is rotting faster, and their boots are constantly covered in white stains in winter.
Gravel instead of reagents and sand
You can sprinkle sand on the road, but the sand litters the city, which is already full of dust in the spring. Finns very often use fine gravel instead of sand and reagents. The size of gravel chips that are sprinkled on roads in Finland ranges from a few millimeters to a centimeter, that is, it is not sand or dust, but small sharp pebbles.
This is what the pebbles that Finns use to sprinkle roads in winter look like.
The stones work very effectively. The pebbles are sharp and cut into both the ice and the sole of your shoe or the tire tread of your car or bicycle, providing good traction on both snow and ice. Pebbles do not need to be poured every day, but only when snow has fallen, or there is ice on the road due to weather conditions. I sprinkled them with stones and they lay there until the next snowfall. I don’t know how often you have to pour stones, but it seems to me that on average it happens no more than once a week. The stones work quite well, providing good contact with the road for pedestrians, bicycles and cars traveling at low speeds in the city.
Stones have another significant advantage. In addition to the fact that stones are natural to the environment, unlike chemical reagents, they can be collected and used a second time. The pebbles are quite heavy and, unlike sand, remain until spring in the place where they were poured. In the spring, as soon as the frost stops, pebbles are collected very quickly throughout Finland.
Several tractors can collect stones from an entire street in a couple of hours...
Pebbles are collected, firstly, to be used next winter, because Finns are very thrifty. And secondly, to clean the roadway. Once the snow melts, the pebbles on the road become somewhat dangerous. A pile of pebbles scattered on the asphalt behaves like a bunch of small balls. If you brake sharply on pebbles on asphalt without ice and snow, the car or bicycle will roll further. At low speeds up to 40 km/h this is not critical, but at high speeds it becomes dangerous.
In spring, pebbles can even become dangerous, as they behave like balls on asphalt...
Pebbles are very effective, especially in the city center where there are a lot of pedestrians and cars move slowly. On large highways, pebbles do not work, so in Finland, on highways, they also water the roadway with reagents.
The spring sun heated the pebbles and they fell under the ice...
And the stones are all under the ice...
In the spring, pebbles hardly work for a while...
Also, pebbles do not work in the spring when the ice melts. During the spring day, black stones, unlike white snow, quickly heat up and “fall” through the ice cover on the road. By nightfall it was freezing again, there were no more stones on the road, but pure ice. But this situation does not last long. At this time you just need to be a little more careful. But in winter you generally need to drive and walk more carefully. Therefore, in our opinion, Finnish stones are a very effective environmentally friendly solution to the problem of winter traffic safety for a small city.
In the spring, all sidewalks and roadways in Finland are covered with a layer of stones...
In Finland, almost all cities are very small. Are pebbles suitable for a big city? In our opinion, quite, especially in the city center, in pedestrian areas. How expensive is it to use this type of gravel? It seems to us that it is no more expensive than chemicals or sand. In both cases, a machine is needed to pour the reagent and scatter sand or stones. So the cost of the stone throwing procedure itself is the same. The stones may be more expensive, but they can be used many times. Special equipment collects stones very quickly. Several Finnish tractors can clean an entire street in a couple of hours. Watch our video transmission for yourself and see how simple it is: