Roads in Finland in winter. Russia - Finland: how roads are cleaned in winter. Maps and navigator
"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 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).
February 2012
My husband and I have prepared a short article about roads in Finland, since we ourselves love to travel by car. Danya (my husband) has been to Finland about 10 times. Most often - by car. In this joint post of ours, Danya talks about the roads of Finland (briefly and dryly, like a real man), gives useful advice to former and future travelers, talks about parking and basic rules... in general, shares her experience. And I add a little feminine thoughts :)
Using low beams and fog lights
The low beam on the car must always be on while driving.
Fog lights may only be used when they are really necessary (in fog, snow).
Anti-radar
Prohibited as a class; if detected while crossing the border, there is a high chance of not crossing that very border.
Speed mode
The standard speed limit is 50 km/h in built-up areas, 80 km/h outside built-up areas. Signs indicating the permitted speed are often, very often.
Speed control on roads
In many places, cameras are installed that record speed and take a photo of the car in case of violation. Signs hanging 200-300 meters before the camera installation site honestly warn about them. But there are also completely invisible and unadvertised cameras hanging there. If you see a flash, it almost 100% means that you have broken something.
Changing speed signs depending on conditions
Depending on road conditions, speed may be automatically limited. On large highways, speed limit signs are electronic and can change their numbers.
Parking on the highway
Parking on the side of the road is not permitted - special parking lots are located along the entire route, approximately tens of kilometers away.
Parking outside populated areas on a road with a “main road” sign is prohibited; there are places for parking specially designated for this, marked with the letter P. This may simply be a widening of the roadway, or it may be a road extending away from the main road with a platform at the end , toilets, gazebos, benches, information about the region.
Roads in winter
The roads are rougher, but cleaner. The road surface feels more slippery, especially in the city. There is no salt on the roads; they are sprinkled with granite chips. But we used the washer twice during the whole trip. After returning to Russian territory, the washer reservoir ran out at 100 kilometers.
Pedestrians
Pedestrians are sacred! They may not even look when they cross the road. In Finland there are no crossings on roads with a speed of more than 60. Pedestrians are either very loved or very afraid. We did not encounter a single pedestrian crossing on the highway where the permitted speed was more than 60 km/h. If you still need to cross the highway, then a few hundred meters away from it a sign is placed limiting the speed to 60. Outside populated areas, very often there are crossings with an island in the middle, and when it is dark, this island is illuminated.
Roundabout Circulation
Many intersections of equivalent roads are organized in the form of a roundabout. It's quite convenient. The main one is the one who is already on the circle, and not the one who enters it.
Left Lane
No one drives in the left lane - it is only for overtaking.
When driving on roads with two lanes in one direction (to be honest, I have never seen roads with three lanes), the left lane is always free, no one drives on it, it is only for overtaking. Overtook and back into the right lane.
Did turn signals invent panties?
Everyone always uses a turn signal. Unfortunately, in Russia it is becoming almost indecent to use it. The only car that did not show a turn signal during our entire trip had the region number 177 rus :)
Rapidly changing traffic lights in the city
Traffic lights change unusually quickly (especially in cities). The yellow signal is almost invisible, and the green signal does not blink.
A traffic light with an arrow is a separate traffic light
On our way there were no so-called traffic lights with arrows. The arrow is a separate full-fledged traffic light with its own red, yellow and even green colors.
About parking
You cannot stand in the courtyards - a fine of 40 euros.
The courtyard of the house is considered private territory and the entrance to it is decorated with signs warning that parking in the courtyard may result in a fine of 40 euros.
In 600 km of driving in Finland, we encountered only one police car, and that one was in the night, although it was shamelessly violating speed limits :)
They violate everything for 10 kilometers.
Of course, no one follows the speed limit literally; almost everyone breaks the speed limit within 5-10 kilometers.
Another observation is that the farther the country is from Russia, the fewer conditional porshicayens are found on the roads. During my approximately 10 stays in Finland, I met only 1 Cayenne and 2 Audi Q7 with Finnish license plates. In Estonia this number is already several orders of magnitude greater. Now let's look out the window...
In general, Yelopukki’s relatives do not drive the latest car market products. There are a lot of old cars, but they are all in very good condition. In one of the parking lots next to us there was an Opel Kadett; the car was finally discontinued in 1991, that is, it is now at least 21 years old. The main problem of these cars is the rusting rear arches, this can easily be seen if you meet such a specimen on our roads - either there will be a lot of welding marks in this place, or a lot of rust. Everything about the Finnish cadet was familiar, at least it felt like it.
And now I’ve taken away Dani’s computer and I want to say a few words as a navigator.
Maps and navigator
In fact, the Tom-Tom navigator works as a real navigator in our car. He knows all the roads (even country roads) in Finland and takes us everywhere perfectly. Therefore, when getting ready to travel, I advise you to get a navigator and fill it with places of interest. We call our navigator Natasha (he has a woman’s voice), we lovingly disobey him if we know better where we need to go... and we take him on walking walks around the city! Very comfortably. Of course, we always have with us a paper road map of Finland (bought once on Nesta) and maps of the region and city where we are going. First of all, when we get to a new place, we go to tourist information - we collect maps and booklets on interesting places. Sometimes maps can be found in the parking lot.
Points of interest signs
All of Finland is full of signs. But not traffic signs, but information signs - where there is something interesting.
A white monogram on a brown background with the name of the attraction and how many kilometers to the place. Oh, if only there were guidebooks where all these places are described.
Good luck on the roads!
poppismic
24/02/2012 02:57
The opinions of tourists may not coincide with the opinions of the editors.
I don’t understand how they drive on them and how they are still alive. It's a matter of winter roads in Russia - sprinkled with salt, reagents, sand or granite chips. And here?
In Lapland, which is completely covered with snow, no one sprinkles anything at all on either the roads or the streets in the cities. Solid snow, both on the road and on the side of the road, no dirty dumps or mess underfoot, all the cars are clean, the shoes on your feet don’t fall apart and don’t have white streaks when you come home. And everyone drives fine, no accidents, in a week I haven’t seen a single car lying in a ditch like you know where...
How does this happen? And the roads won’t get dirty with all these mixtures, and it’s safe to drive in winter? Riddle... How do you think they manage to do this?
1. The only thing they do here with the roads is to constantly clear them of freshly fallen snow. Dangerous powder that hides the true condition of the road and slippery bald spots is almost never found here. Ice - yes, it does occur, but... there are no accidents in sight! Maybe the reason is that if there is a sign at 80 on the highway, everyone is driving 80, not 99, and certainly not driving at 130.
2. The road at the entrance to one of the Lapland cities.
3. This is what roads look like inside villages and cities in Lapland.
4. Below is a photo of what the route from Rovaniemi to Ivalo looks like.
6. On slopes, dangerous turns or road intersections you can often see lights. Naturally, these measures reduce the likelihood of accidents.
One of the main problems of public utilities is always the removal of snow and ice, and despite the constant introduction of new methods of saving from ice, salt is still in use. The Village collected 5 street cleaning technologies in countries where snow falls in winter, learned about their pros and cons, and took comments from environmentalists, shoemakers and ordinary residents.
SALT (NaCl)
PETERSBURG, MOSCOW, Kyiv
Cheapness
Harm. Salt is a chloride, a very active substance. For example, several years ago it led to an accident at the Southern substation (St. Petersburg), when wires laid underground were disconnected. Salt leads to corrosion of pipes, bridges, cars, causes allergies, harms shoes, clothing, animal paws and historical monuments. Not to mention the environment, as it ends up in groundwater, soil and rivers.
Sidewalks are sprinkled with technical salt or salt mixtures based on it.
Snow removal in Kyiv
MOSCOW
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The capital has advanced further than other regions in cleaning up territories. Moscow road workers are proud of their system of preventive measures: even before snow falls, roads are treated with liquid reagents - a 28% solution of calcium chloride and sodium chloride (table salt). The processing is done based on data from the weather service and a radar system that can predict the amount of precipitation with an accuracy of 1 mm of water or 1 cm of snow. Moscow utility workers love reagents - this year for the first time they decided to sprinkle their yards with them and sharply increased the volume of purchases of solid chemicals. |
An area of 88 million square meters is covered with 270,000 tons of salt. m. In winter, 2.1 billion rubles are spent monthly on cleaning Moscow roads. |
KYIV
PETERSBURG
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Also on the streets you can find sand and traces of the action of the special mixture “Bionord”, which is used to clean sidewalks. It contains three types of salt: calcium chloride, magnesium chloride and sodium chloride. For the winter, the city purchased 92,000 tons of Bionord. For snow porridge, which is obtained as a result of the action of salt, there is even a special name - slush. Salt is capable of melting ice down to a temperature of minus 21 ° C, however, when the thermometer drops below minus 9–10 ° C, its effectiveness drops sharply. In Finland, salt is no longer used as soon as the temperature drops below minus 5 °C. Finnish meteorologists say roads become less slippery at very low temperatures. |
Opinion: Chemicals on the roads |
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FRICTION METHOD:
SAND AND STONE CHIPS
AUSTRIA, FINLAND, GERMANY, SWEDEN AND OTHERS
environmentally friendly, reusable
stays on the roadway for no more than half an hour:
it is blown away by the wind, the wheels of cars and the feet of pedestrians.
In Helsinki, the snow is compacted and sprinkled with stone chips
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After much trial, error and scientific research, Europe has almost completely abandoned the use of chemicals to melt snow and ice. In Berlin, for example, the law allows the use of salt only on dangerous sections of roads. Chemicals cause all too obvious harm to the environment and urban services. Fine sand is also not the best option. It generates dust, gets into the lungs and is not recyclable. While gravel and stone chips are environmentally friendly and economical, although initially they are more expensive than salt. |
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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. In some European cities there are even special gravel boxes placed for pedestrians so that residents can spread the sand themselves if it is very slippery. By the way, such boxes can sometimes be found in St. Petersburg, for example on Bolshoy Sampsonievsky Prospekt and near the Staraya Derevnya metro station. |
In 2010, 22 million euros were allocated for winter road maintenance in Finland, but due to heavy snowfalls the budget was exceeded by 17 million. |
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TORGEIRA VAA METHOD
SWEDEN
efficiency, environmental friendliness, long-term results
requires special expensive equipment
The method invented by Torgeir Vaa is being implemented on an experimental basis in Sweden
In 2004, Sweden introduced a new method of combating ice, which was invented by the Swedish scientist Torgeir Vaa. Fine sand in a ratio of 7 to 3 is mixed with hot water at 90–95 °C and sprinkled on the streets. Hot sand melts into the snow and makes the surface rough. This treatment lasts for 3–7 days with daily traffic of about 1,500 vehicles. Or until another snowfall passes.
ALTERNATIVE CHEMICALS
USA, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND
Magnesium chloride
high efficiency
more expensive than commercial salt and causes
even more severe corrosion of metals
Great Salt Lakes in Utah
Americans and Canadians mainly use magnesium chloride, which is mined in the Great Salt Lakes in Utah, 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.
Calcium-magnesium acetate
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NO REMEDY
JAPAN AND THE REST OF 230 COUNTRIES
After snowfall in Aomori Prefecture
In the mountains of Japan, up to several meters of snow falls during the winter, and in cities - 15–20 cm per night. As a result, by the end of winter, sidewalks and intercity roads turn into narrow snow canyons with walls 2 human heights and higher. However, the roads in Japan are not treated in any way, they only clear the snow. Therefore, ice is not such a rare phenomenon in cities. However, studded tires are prohibited in the country. By the way, clearing snow near houses and on sidewalks is the task of the residents themselves.
ECOLOGIST'S OPINION
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