Yle just published an article about the issues tourists run into with rental cars; despite the cars being equipped with the right winter tire type, many drivers are oblivious to just how big of a difference slippery roads make in braking distances, and how easy it is to slip off the road.

Another huge issue for beginners is driving on snow-covered roads where you can't see any of the road markings. This requires paying extra attention to what you see on the road: where have other car's tires made tracks.

Of the 35 traffic accidents last week in a certain region in Lapland, most were tourists in rental cars or RV's. The most typical accident types were slipping off the road into a ditch, and colliding with a reindeer. In Norway, as many as 70% of winter season road rescues are about tourists.

Some make the mistake of simply stopping their car on the road in order to take pictures. A huge no-no, especially as you remember those long braking distances!

If you realize you're skidding, sliding, or the ABS is activating, you're asking too much from the tires. You need to be gentler with the gas pedal and predict when you need to slow down, earlier on.

When you're a pedestrian, wear reflectives: in conditions where a person can be seen from a distance of 25 meters without one, a reflective can be seen from a distance of more than 150 meters. If you think about jaywalking, remember that a car trying to stop instead of running you over, won't be able to stop nearly as fast as in summer conditions.

Winter driving courses are available. Stay safe, remember it can take 4 times as much distance to bring your car to a stop compared to summer conditions, and especially with snow flying around, visibility can be poor, too. Stay off the road when local weather forecasts warn you of extra difficult conditions.

by Masseyrati80

18 comments

  1. I was staying in Saariselkä during last christmas/ New year’s eve in 24 : a taxi driver told us how much more road accidents happened that year mainly due to rented cars which drivers largely disrespect security distances. People dont seem to understand that driving on snow/ice requires training and aggravate their situation by reproducing the same criminal behaviour that can be observed on european highways : cars separated from each other by less than a car distance, driving over 130km/h…

  2. And focus in driving, that Instagram crap etc. can be done in the destination as well. 

  4. I’m not tourist and as worst 10% driver I have Always been in grave danger during winter and all I got as winter training maybe hour on winter training track on driver’s school

  5. Completely true. Driving in winter conditions is a whole lot different and tourists should consider this and if at all possible use taxies. Even for Finns the conditions in winter can deteriorate to such that driving is a sweat-producing activity. I still remember when once out of the blue snowflakes started arriving and I had summer tyres on and had to drive a one hour distance. It took like 4 hours and I finally ended in a ditch because I was so exhausted that I took the last turn into my friends house 2 meters too early.

    And even with winter tyres the conditions can be terrible. All my collitions have been in winter conditions and I am a very careful driver with lots of winter driving experience. If someone stops on a road it may often be just impossible to stop before the collision and deers and raindeers are a constant threat in some areas.

    Please post this in the tourist group too!

  6. > Some make the mistake of simply stopping their car on the road in order to take pictures. A huge no-no, especially as you remember those long braking distances! 

    Yep, Darwin award contestants. No idea why do they think their photos, which they’ll post online for likes and up doots, are special when there are thousands of better photos available online.

  7. And if you see one reindeer or elk, beware — there are usually more, just waiting to run in front of you.

  8. Everyone has more difficulty driving in the winter, but most Finns are at least aware of the dangers. Good reminder.

  10. Really honestly wish that renting cars wasn’t so easy in dangerous conditions. Sucks as a local to be scared daily because tourists are constantly making dangerous decisions while driving. It has gotten REALLY bad lately.

  11. I’m really skeptical of this. I think this kind of news is extremely easy to publish as a fact without it being even remotely true.

    I understand that it’s nice to warn people about icy roads but at the same time I don’t think this has been studied or that we actually have any accurate statistics.

    For example if 70% of the people on the road are tourists then 70% of the accidents are made by tourists. It really doesn’t mean anything.

  12. To add: If a car ahead flashes its high beams at you and your high beams aren’t on, it means there are animals near or on the road! Slow down and stay alert. Good etiquette to do the same if you spot any. I like to flash mine rapidly and also brake in pulses to flash my brake lights to alert drivers behind.

  13. While they didn’t do a proper study, they mention Rovaniemi receiving 15k tourists, which is about 23% increase of the population, and the number of rescue calls doubling. And they also say they mostly attend to tourists during this season. When tourists are still not the main part of the population. But they may be more mobile than locals when trying to visit things.

  14. One thing tourists need to remember, people in the nordics have to go through training in the winter, and in the dark, to receive their licenses.

  15. I have been to Finland and have seen how you Finns drive. Craziness. Taking corners at high speeds on icy roads with zero visibility of the other lane.

    I think the reason why so many professional racers are Finnish is because of natural selection. The bad drivers are all dead.

  16. Honestly. Insirance companies for rentals should require the renter to have done winter driving course before getting approved for driving here during winter. It’s pure idiotism to let them drive in conditions where even natives have trouble.

  17. Came back from Rovaniemi a few days ago, my ride from Pello to Rovaniemi was on pure black ice while it was pouring down rain. It was a fun ride 😅

  18. I remember driving in Iceland: 1 cm of first snow fell on the roads, and within an hour there were about 150 tourist crashes.

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