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Truck Drivers Push Pedal to the Metal

Nine out of ten truck drivers exceed the speed limit on Finnish roads, according to a recent study.

According to a study carried out by the magazines Matkalehti and Tekniikka Maailma, nearly 15 percent of drivers drove fast enough to be hit with a fine. Meanwhile, over 75 percent would have been given a stern warning by police.

The study, which was set up to follow traffic between the cities of Oulu and Heinola, also found that over one-half of passenger car drivers exceeded the speed limit.

Earlier this week, a driver of a heavy trailer truck was handed a three-month suspended sentence in connection with a disastrous collision with a bus over two years ago. The trailer of the articulated vehicle carrying a load of paper jackknifed accross an icy highway in March 2004, colliding with an oncoming bus.

Twenty-three people were killed and 15 injured in the Konginkangas accident - the worst single road accident in Finnish history. The driver was found to have been driving above the speed limit.

YLE