Traveling abroad by car has long become a common thing for many Russians, especially when it comes to Finland, a close and friendly neighbor. Traffic rules in most countries of the world have long been unified, therefore, you will not find significant differences from the rules usual for Russia in Europe. However, this does not mean at all that they do not exist at all. Most often, the differences relate to the amount of fines for various traffic violations, as well as the requirements according to which cars should be parked. To avoid getting yourself into trouble, it is worthwhile to familiarize yourself with the traffic rules in advance and find out how parking in Finland works.
Traffic features in Finland
In general, the Finnish road rules are similar to the Russian ones, but they have some peculiarities. For example, the top speed in Finland is limited by the following speedometer readings:
- in settlements - 50 km / h;
- outside settlements - 80 km / h;
- on motorways - 120 km / h.
It is almost impossible to violate the speed limit and at the same time go unpunished, since traffic on the roads is monitored by CCTV cameras. Therefore, it is better not to violate anything.
In small towns such as Vantaa, Imatra, Rovaniemi, Porvoo, Tampere, Jyväskylä, there are paid parking lots, but if you wish, you can easily find a place where you can park your car for free.
What can not be said about the capital - in Helsinki there is a problem with free parking. The city is divided into 3 parking zones, the cheapest of which includes the outskirts of the city. That is, the closer to the center of the capital you want to leave your car, the more you will have to pay for it.
The maximum allowed blood alcohol level for a driver is 0.5 ppm. At the same time, the size of fines for traffic violations is much higher in comparison with Russia, and an attempt to bribe a policeman is doomed to failure.
What types of parking lots exist in Finland
All Finnish parking lots can be divided into three main types:
- Free - in fact, such are all places in which parking is not prohibited. However, in Finland they are usually marked with special signs. In many places, especially at large supermarkets such as Prizma, parking is free, but the time is limited.
Long-term parking on the territory of shopping centers or supermarkets is prohibited.
- Paid parking lots are located near roads and in adjacent territories. Marked with appropriate signs and equipped with parking meters for payment. If the parking lot is equipped with a barrier, then upon entering you will receive a coupon indicating the parking start time, and upon leaving you will pay for the actual parking time.
- Underground parking is most often found in shopping centers, hotels, train stations, airports and ferry terminals, for example, in the port of Kotka or Silvia in Turku. These parking lots are paid.
Upon entering, you receive a receipt indicating the time when you parked the car in a special machine installed at the barrier. If you decide to leave the parking lot, you must insert the receipt into the machine and pay. After that, you have 15 minutes to leave the parking lot.
It is not worth delaying - when you leave, the designations on the parking card indicating the time of setting the car and the time of payment will be read by another machine that will not open the barrier in front of you if the time is overdue. In this case, you will have to pay extra.
When planning trips through Finland with a change to sea transport, you should keep in mind that you will not be able to park your car next to the ferry for a long time.
Car parks located next to ferry crossings accept cars for no more than 24 hours.
This is a real problem for those who, having arrived in Finland by car, want to visit, for example, Sweden. One day is usually not enough for such a trip. Therefore, find out in advance the addresses of the parking lots where it is possible to book a place for several days and which are within an accessible distance from the ferry complexes.
How parking lots are marked in Finland
The places in which parking is permitted in the country of Suomi are indicated by the same sign as in the Russian Federation:
Under this sign, as a rule, there are a large number of tablets explaining its action:
In this case, a sign directly under the road sign indicates that parking is free, but parking is limited. The first line indicates the maximum parking time (4 hours), the rest indicates the operating mode of the parking (Saturday is placed in brackets, Sunday is indicated in red).
The second sign from the sign indicates the method of placing cars in the parking lot. In this case, it is indicated that cars should be parked in parallel, but there are other options (for example, a herringbone, etc.). The lowest plate indicates the direction of action of the sign. In this case, it indicates that cars can be parked to the right of the sign.
The validity of the sign extends, as usual, up to the first intersection or up to the canceling road sign.
Be sure to pay attention to the parking spaces marked with the following sign:
This is how places for disabled people are designated. They are found in almost all Finnish parking lots and it is impossible to occupy them without a disability. A monetary fine is provided for such a violation.
There are also other signs - most often they indicate various prohibitions and restrictions, for example:
- Kielletty - translated as "prohibited".
- Pysakointi kielletty - in the area of action of such a sign, one cannot not only stand, but also stop.
- Vain talon asukkaille - such an inscription under the parking sign means that it is intended only for residents of the house where it is installed.
- Vieras Paikka - stands for parking for guests arriving at the house.
- Varattu - means that the parking space is occupied.
- Ulos - this is how the exit from the parking lot is indicated.
There are also parking lots near private houses. Usually they are marked with a plate with the number of the car, which has the right to stand there, or with the number of the apartment, the owners of which have the right to parking. It is forbidden to occupy such places for other people's cars.
There are quite a lot of paid parking lots in Finland, so it is almost impossible to book a parking space in the center of a large city for free.
The sign for paid parking looks like this:
The icon on its left, resembling a basket, means a parking meter, and the inscriptions indicate the time of paid parking (on weekdays from 8.00 to 17.00, on Saturdays from 8.00 to 15.00). The rest of the time you do not need to pay for parking. It should be noted that the practice of charging for parking only at certain times is very common in Finland. Therefore, many parking lots that are paid on weekdays are free on weekends.
Also, weekend rates may differ from regular parking fees.
On paid parking lots, you can see the following inscriptions:
- Tilaa - indicates availability.
- Täynnä - means that all parking spaces are occupied.
How to pay for parking
As a rule, parking is paid through a parking meter. How to use it depends on its design. Old machines are mechanical, and after lowering the coins, you need to turn a special knob. New machines are powered by electricity and the green button must be pressed.
The payment scheme for the parking space is as follows:
- Park properly and turn off the engine. Parking with the engine running is prohibited in Finland, including free parking. The maximum parking time with the engine running is 2 minutes, and only if the outside temperature is below minus 15 degrees.
- Find a parking meter. Usually there is a pointer to its location.
- Pay for parking. You can use coins in denominations of 20 and 50 cents and notes of 1 and 2 euros. The time you paid is displayed on the screen. If you overpaid, press the red reset button. After paying for the required time, press the green button and receive a receipt.
- Returning to the car, put the receipt in a conspicuous place on the dashboard of the car. Paid parking lots have supervisors who check the availability of these receipts and the paid time. You may face a fine for violation. Moreover, at present, various services of all EU countries are united by a single information system, so a fine can be collected from you even in another country.
The cost of parking depends on the city and the specific parking lot and can range from 20 to 50 eurocents for 10 minutes and from 1 to 3 euros per hour. Parking for a day costs about 45 euros.
How to use free, limited-time parking
At free car parks where parking is limited, you will need a parking clock. They can be purchased at petrol stations and various kiosks.
Once you have parked, you must set the parking start time on the clock and put it on the dashboard so that it can be clearly seen from the street. You should not break the rules - there is a fine for this.
In this case, it is allowed to round off the parking start time forward to half an hour. That is, if you park at 11.15, the clock can be set to 11.30.
Fines for violation of parking rules
A fine can be issued by both police officers and parking attendants. The receipt can be handed to you personally, or they can be left in the car, pressed down by the janitor. In particular, the following shall be punished:
- violation of parking rules;
- parking lot with the engine on;
- not turning on the hand brake in the parking lot.
The amount of fines ranges from 10-50 euros. You are given 2 weeks to pay. If you do not pay the collection on time, you may be charged a penalty in the amount of 50% of the fine.
If you think that you have been punished unfairly, you can appeal the fine to the authority that imposed it. However, the Finns accompany the execution of the penalty by photographing the violation, so it will be difficult to prove their case.
Finally
It is not a problem to find free parking in small towns in Finland, but the duration of parking there may be limited. In large cities, most of the parking lots are paid, at least on weekdays during working hours. Finding a parking lot where you can leave your car for more than a day is not easy, so it is better to take care of this in advance.
The Finns do not like it when they violate the established rules, and if you allow this, you will face a rather large fine by Russian standards.
