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Concepts and definitions

Alcohol-related case

An accident in which the driver of the vehicle of some party or a pedestrian has been proven (by a blood test reading of at least 0.5 per mille or a breathalyser test result of exhalation containing at least 0.22 milligrams of alcohol per one litre of air) or is suspected on strong grounds to have been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.

Coach

A vehicle manufactured for the transportation of people. Space for 8 or more persons in addition to the driver.

Drink-driving case

An accident in which the driver of a motor vehicle has been proven (by a blood test reading of at least 0.5 per mille or a breathalyser test result of exhalation containing at least 0.22 milligrams of alcohol per one litre of air) or is suspected on strong grounds to have been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.

Fatal accident

An accident in which a person involved has died within 30 days from the accident as a consequence of the accident, excluding deaths from acute fits of illness.

Passenger car

Road motor vehicle, other than a moped or a motor cycle,

intended for the carriage of passengers and designed to seat no more than nine persons (including the driver).

Pedestrian

A person travelling on foot, roller skates, skateboard, skis, kick-sledge or similar.

Person injured in an accident

A person who has not died in an accident (or within 30 days of it), but has sustained in the accident injuries which require medical care or observation in hospital, treatment at home (sick leave) or surgical treatment, such as stitches. If a person has sustained bruises, scratches or the like that do not require aforementioned treatment, he/she is not regarded as injured.

Person involved in an accident

Persons involved in an accident refer to the drivers of vehicles and pedestrians involved in an accident, and passengers killed or injured in the accident. An animal is party to an accident involving animals.

Person killed in an accident

A person who has died as a consequence of an accident within 30 days from the accidents, excluding deaths from acute fits of illness.

Road traffic accident

An event having lead to personal injury or damage to property that has taken place in an area intended for public transport or generally used for transport and in which at least one of the involved parties has been a moving vehicle. In addition to the vehicles specified in the Road Traffic Act, such party can also be a tram and in level crossing accidents a train. The falling down of a pedestrian is not a traffic accident, but that of a rider of a bicycle (= vehicle) is.

Seriously injured in road accident

A person who has not died in an accident (or within 30 days of it), but has sustained in the accident injuries which require medical care or observation in a care institution, and who has visited a doctor within six days of the accident, and the injuries are classified as serious in accordance with the AIS Abbreviated Injury Scale (AAAM, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine).

Tractor

A vehicle specifically designed for agricultural and forestry work to run implements of haul trailers coupled to it. Special forestry machines such as logging tractors or forwarders, or forestry machines built on earthmoving machines are not classified as tractors but as motorised work machines.

Trailer

A trailer of a motor vehicle is a hauled vehicle constructed for the transportation of goods or for tourism purposes.

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Statistics on road traffic accidents [e-publication].
ISSN=2342-3846. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 19.3.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/ton/kas_en.html