Wednesday’s papers all devote column space to National Reflector Day. Aamulehti reports half of all pedestrian accidents leading to death take place in the dark or dusk. The traffic accident investigation board studied 20 such incidents in 2011, and in three out of four cases, the person killed had not used a reflector.
43 percent of all pedestrian injuries occur during the darkest months of the Finnish year – October to January. The lion’s share of accidents on crosswalks also takes place at this time.
Reflectors work best if they are attached to an outdoor garment in such a way that the reflector is at knee-level. Hanging it from a string works best, because then the reflector can swing freely, making it visible from the front, back and sides.
Ilta-Sanomat continues on the theme, saying that according to the traffic safety authority Liikenneturva, only half of pedestrians in built-up areas use a reflector. As conditions turn dark, today is the day to dig out your reflectors from winter storage.
Helsinki's eastern districts in trouble
The feature article from Finland’s largest paper, Helsinki Sanomat, discusses Helsinki Mayor Jussi Pajunen’s crackdown on eastern Helsinki’s pubs. Shopping centres in the city’s eastern districts are being overtaken by seedy pubs, boosting regional and resident inequality.
The mayor lays the blame for the trend sharply with the city’s housing policy and an influx of unemployed immigrants. He says it is useless to deny the decline of eastern Helsinki and its trackside communities, and action must be taken before the differences in standard of living in Helsinki’s districts become even more pronounced.
His comments are in response to a Helsingin Sanomat reader letter from Eeva-Liisa Broman, a long-time community worker in eastern Helsinki. She wrote to the paper on Tuesday, saying that Helsinki’s decision-makers have not done enough to address the growing living standard disparity in the different regions of the capital city. In short, eastern Helsinki is getting the short end of the stick.
Mayor Pajunen attributes the situation to two phenomena: “First, our housing policy has been too one-sided for decades. Second, the immigrant population of Helsinki was only two percent in 1990. Today it is 13 or 14 percent. They have more unemployment than the average population.”
What is the City of Helsinki prepared to do about the rising regional disparity? Mayor Pajunen admits that concrete action and fund allocation is needed.
“We have to stop the trend of boozers taking over the neighbourhood. We should ban all such activity that causes a disturbance to the local environment. Successful malls have the money to buy proper security, but shops in marginal areas don’t and the local police are also struggling for resources. We must create a model whereby the city can provide equal access to safety,” says the mayor.
Small pensions and low education rates among seniors
The leading southwest daily Turun Sanomat reports on a recent study of elderly well-being developed and constructed by HelpAge International, an advocacy group for older people. The Global AgeWatch Index 2014 ranked Finland 15 out of 96 countries in the ranking, maintaining its same position as last year.
The Index report card ranks the income security and health status of older people worldwide, along with the ability of the country to provide its seniors with an enabling environment and maximum functionality. Of the 96 countries in the index, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland top the list, and Afghanistan and Mozambique were ranked the lowest.
Finland’s position was weakened by its low educational attainment rate, 13 percentage points below the regional average, and small pension payments for older women in particular.