A 9-year-old girl was killed by a lorry at the intersection of Mechelininkatu and Pohjoinen Hesperiankatu just before 2 pm on Friday, August 21 in the downtown Helsinki district of Töölö.
The Taivallahti primary school and a popular playground that also hosts afternoon care for the school’s young children are located near the intersection.
Personnel at the playground arranged a sit-down with the children to discuss the incident.
“We told the children that an accident had taken place, and that we wouldn’t be playing in that area of the playground for the rest of the day,” said playground employee Sanna Mäkinen.
The children were not told that the accident had caused a young child’s death, however, as Mäkinen says the decision whether or not to tell the children was better left to their parents.
Is traffic getting more dangerous?
On Tuesday an 8-year-old boy was seriously injured crossing a pedestrian crossing in the Vantaa district of Tikkurila. A second 9-year-old girl was hit by a car in early August near the Pasila train station, but was not badly hurt. News of an adult male cyclist that was intentionally hit by a motorist last weekend also shocked the populace.
Many parents may wonder if they should tell their children about the recent traffic deaths.
Antero Lammi, development manager at Finland’s traffic safety authority Liikenneturva says news of singular traffic deaths should not be used to ’frighten’ children into being more careful on the streets.
“I don’t see that there’s any immediate need to have the conversation, but I don’t necessarily see any drawbacks either,” he says.
Some children may have heard the news through the grapevine and feel the need to discuss it further.
“Of course, in terms of traffic safety education, it is a good idea to talk about the hazards that traffic can create in general terms, and what can happen if they are not careful,” Lammi says.