Finnish Road Statistics is now issued for the 125th time. It is issued in the series “Transport and Tourism” according to the classification by subject of international statistics.

Statistical highligts:
 
Totally car traffic on the highways increased by 0.9 % in 2009. Traffic decreased slightly (-0,2 %) on the main roads, but increased in all the other road categories.

The average daily number of automobiles on all highways is about 1,260 The number is not, however, evenly distributed over the entire road network or between the various parts of the country. On main roads the AADT (average annual daily traffic) is 2,700 to 5,700 automobiles, on regional roads 1 400, and on connecting roads 300.
 
The total mileage on highways in 2009 was 35,900 million automobile kilometers, including 63 % on main roads.
 
The overall length of the highways is 78,161 km, consisting of 17 % of main roads (classes I and II), 17 % of regional roads, and 66 % of connecting roads. The road system provides quite good coverage for the present national infrastructure and foreseeable developments. There are 765 km of motorways, and 110 km of semi-motorways that are intended for motor vehicles only.
 
There is a total of 5,138 km of routes for “light traffic” (i.e. pedestrians and cyclists) in connection with the highway system, mainly alongside the busiest sections of the lower-class road network, where such light traffic concentrates and is subject to highest risks.
 
The highways are paved with asphalt on 25 %, soft asphalt on 38 %, surface dressing on gravel on 2 % and gravel on 35 %. Asphalt pavement is mainly used on roads carrying heavy traffic (AADT 1,000 to 6,000). Oil gravel roads (soft asphalt) have less traffic (AADT 300 to 1,500), and gravel roads only 200 AADT. Asphalt paving was done in 2009 on 1,768 km, or 51 % of all paving work, 3,495 km. Most of this consisted of repaving.
 
Highways are lighted on nearly 16 %. Mainly due to their heavy traffic, main roads have lighting on the largest proportion (28%).
 
A general speed limit of 80 km/h is in force on nearly 70 % of the road network, mainly on connectingroads.
 
In addition to the highways, Finland has some 26,000 km of streets and district plan roads and 350 000 km of private roads.
 
There were 3,301 personal injury accidents on highways in 2009, (year 2008 3,577). In these accidents the number of fatalities was206, which is 18 persons less than in the previous year (224).The number of road deaths was lower than at any time since 1967, the year in which the compilation of accident statistics on Finland’s highways (formerly public roads) began.
 
In 2009, according to preliminaty information 279 persons were killed in road traffic accidents, which is 65 less than in 2008. (source: Statistics Finland)