Finnish road builders have reached heights in difficult to create high-quality road surfaces. From the point of view of drivers of many countries, Finnish roads are almost perfect. But still - riding on these roads in the winter requires a certain skill.

Finland is located in that part of the sushi, where more than half a year there is a clash of warm air masses from the Atlantic and Ice Winds of the North. Even in the midst of winter, a thaw unexpectedly began to begin, which will change as fast snowfall and frosts.

There are constantly natural phenomena, potentially dangerous for the road movement. Therefore, the Finnish National Road Administration pays special attention to the study of the state of roads, warning drivers about danger and develops the rules for using vehicles in certain conditions.

This insidious temperature

Often, special thermometers can be seen on the side of the Finnish roads. They show air temperature ( iLMA.) and road surfaces ( tie). Finnish drivers, seeing that the temperature of the road is below zero, and the air temperature above decreases the speed - they know that in these conditions it is possible to form on the "Black Ice" road.

This is called a thin ice crust on the road surface, which is the image of moisture comfort, which condenses on the cold road. This ice is almost impaired on the road - and the road wet from the valera, it is very difficult to distinguish. The machine, hitting the "Black Ice" band instantly loses control. "Black ice" most often happens at the beginning thaw.

Another dangerous phenomenon in winter should be called ice rain. Drops of water falling through the cold air cooled to a temperature below zero, but do not freeze. However, at the first touch with branches of trees, wires or expensive droplets, instantly freeze, forming a thin ice crust. Warns about the appearance of an ice rain, a sharp decrease in temperature, glass shine in the light of the headlights of the roadside bushes and trees and the changing knock of the droplets on the windshield - it becomes tough.

For the sake of security

All Finnish roads on the quality of their service are divided into three categories. The roads of the highest category are cleaned of snow and process salt first, then clean the minor roads, and only then - rates. The roads of the highest category most often all winter stand without snow, but the secondary and country roads by the middle of winter are under a compacted snow crust.

Such roads generously sprinkled with granite crumb, which gives the best clutch of the wheels with an expensive than river sand. Also, the most complex areas are sprinkled - entry into bridges, road joining, intersection in general, the places where the change in the speed of movement and the mandatory rebuilding of machines occurs.

It should be remembered that no matter how the road is, but the driver is responsible for safety in Finland. In the event of an accident, complex road conditions may be a concomitant factor, but not the cause of the accident. After all, it is said in the rules that the driver must choose the speed of movement commensurately road conditions. That is why it is necessary to follow the technical condition of your car - in particular behind its tires.

Winter tire time

By order of the Finnish road administration in the winter, that is, from December 1 to March 1, in Finland, it is necessary to use winter, preferably studded, tires. Studded tires are recommended during this period to use all inexperienced drivers. The rest of the time the use of winter tires with spikes is allowed from November 1 to March 31, and with the presence of appropriate weather conditions and longer.

In addition, the seized tires are most effective when driving on the roads covered with a layer of compacted snow. But on the asphalt benefit from spikes is reduced. Therefore, Finnish tires offer drivers a new generation of so-called friction tires. These tires are not covered, but have a special rubber coating, which can change its properties depending on the temperature conditions, and has an increased coefficient of friction, including with respect to ice.

For example, Finnish Hakkapeliitta R is inferior to the studded tires on a bare ice, but wins on asphalt, covered with sowing from snow, salt and water. A big plus - it can be used in Finland, where in winter it is advisable to ride spikes, and in Germany, where the spikes are prohibited. Finnish tires are proud that the new tire has reduced rolling resistance, while maintaining braking characteristics.

However, the frictional properties of the tire deteriorate as it wear out, so buying tires ask again, what the height of the tread is considered for the tire critical to use it as winter rubber.

On the weather on the road, the road works and many important things can be found on the website of the Finnish Road Administration.

On the website of Finnish, in English and partially in Russian, you can get an operational summary of the weather and even see the Finnish roads themselves using the road video cameras. As for the rules of the road, we recommend visiting the Safety Safety Service of Finland.

If you need to provide first medical assistance in emergency cases by phone 112. English is the working language of this service. If an accident occurred and there are no victims, then contact the local police by phone 118.

Happy way to you!

Special thanks for consultation - Finnish road administration and Mr. Pauli Highimi.

Text: Konstantin Ranc

I do not understand how they go on them and how long is still alive. Whether the case is winter roads in Russia - sprinkled salt, reagents, sand or granite crumb. And here?

In Lapland, completely covered with snow, no one at all sprinkles the roads or streets in cities. Solid snow, which is on the road that on the side of the road, no dirty dumps and porridges under their feet, all cleaning machines, shoes on the legs are not falling apart and does not have white divorces when you come home. And everyone goes well, no accidents, for a week I did not see any cars lying in a cuvette how you yourself know where ...

How so it turns out? And the roads do not rid all these mixtures, and safely ride in winter? Riddle ... What do you think, how do they manage it?

1. The only thing that is done with the roads is to be brushed from the freshly empty snow. A dangerous fluff hiding the true state of the road and slippery properly, it is practically not met here. Ice - yes, it is found, but ... accidents are not visible! It may be the reason that if on the highway sign 80, all ride 80, and not 99 and even more so do not rush under 130.



2. The road at the entrance to one of the Lapland cities.

3. So the roads look inside the villages and cities in Lapland.

4. Below the photo, as the route from Rovaniemi looks like in Ivalo.

6. On the descents, dangerous corners or intersections of roads, you can often see lighting lights. Naturally, these measures reduce the likelihood of accidents.

One of the main problems of municipal services is always considered to clean the snow and land, and despite the constant introduction of new ways to rescue from ice, salt is still in the go. The Village gathered 5 technologies for cleaning the streets in those countries where the snow falls in the winter, he learned about their advantages and minuses and took comments from ecologists, shoe masters and ordinary residents.

Salt (NaCl)

Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev

Cheapness

Harm. Salt is chloride, very active substance. For example, several years ago she led to the accident on the southern substation (Petersburg), the wire connector laid underground. Salt leads to corrosion of pipes, bridges, cars, causes allergies, harms shoes, clothes, animal legs and historical monuments. Not to mention the environment, as it gets into groundwater, soil and river.


Sidewalks sprinkle with technical salt or salt mixes based on it
Snow cleaning in Kiev

MOSCOW

In cleaning the territories the capital has advanced the rest of the regions. Moscow road builders are proud of their system of preventive measures: even before the snow dropping road is treated with liquid reagents - 28% solution of calcium chloride and sodium chloride (food salt). Processing is made based on the data of the meteorological service and radar systems capable of predicting the amount of precipitation with an accuracy of 1 mm of water or 1 cm snow. Moscow utilities love reagents - this year they first decided to sprinkle their yards and sharply increased the volume of purchases of solid chemicals.
270,000 tons of salt are covered with an area of \u200b\u200b88 million square meters. m. Winter for the cleaning of Moscow roads takes 2.1 billion rubles monthly.

KIEV

Petersburg

Also on the streets you can find sand and traces of the action of a special mixture "Bionord", which are cleared sidewalks. It includes three types of salts: calcium chloride, magnesium chloride and sodium chloride. For the winter, the city purchased 92,000 tons of "Bionor". For snow porridge, which results in salt action, even there is a special name - Shuga. Salt can melt the ice up to a temperature of minus 21 ° C, however, when lowering the thermometer, the thermometer is lowered below the minus 9-10 ° C, its efficiency drops sharply. In Finland, salt cease to use as soon as the temperature drops down below the minus 5 ° C. Finnish meteorologists argue that roads become less slippery at very low temperatures.
Opinion: Chemical Reagents on Roads


Eugene, Wizard of the Shoe Repair "VIP-Master":"The strongest salt eats the thread. Therefore, flashing shoes suffers most. In addition, in recent years, the quality of shoes has fallen: the manufacturing technology has changed, the factory marriage has become worse, the materials have become worse. Therefore, the footwear from salt suffers very much. If we talk about the leather shoes of high quality, then with everyday care for it, the drying of special harm does not cause salt. During the years with a small amount of snow, on the contrary, the shoes are more erased, significantly increasing the reservoir and spans. "


Friction method:
Sand and stone crumb

Austria, Finland, Germany, Sweden and others

ecology, reuse
loaded on the roadway no more than half an hour:
it demolines wind, wheels of cars and legs of pedestrians.


In Helsinki, snow is tamped and sprinkled with stone crumb

After long samples, errors and scientific research Europe almost completely refused the use of chemical reagents for melting snow and ice. In Berlin, for example, the law allows the use of salt only on dangerous areas of roads. Chemicals are too obvious harm to the environment and urban economy. Small sand is also not the best option. It is dust falls into the lungs and is not suitable for secondary use. While gravel and stone crumb - eco-friendly and economical, although initially and cost more than salt.
In the spring, the crumb is collected by special devices resembling a vacuum cleaner, wash and used again next year.

The method of spreading sand and other abrasive (solid and fine-grained) materials are called friction: the ice is not completely eliminated in this way, but the clutch with the road improves. The main condition for using this technology is the road to be cleaned almost to the asphalt immediately after the snowfall or during it. In some cities in Europe, even there are special boxes with gravel placed for pedestrians so that residents can scatter the sand yourself, if very rall. By the way, such drawers can sometimes be found in St. Petersburg, for example, at the Big Sampwehonian Avenue and near the "Old Village" subway.
In 2010, 22 million euros were allocated for the maintenance of roads in winter in Finland, however, due to heavy snowfall, the budget was exceeded by 17 million.


Aurora Ramo, resident of Helsinki:"When the snow goes at night, it is usually cleaned before people wake up and go to work. But if there is a lot of snow, then you do not have time to clean it, and then everything stops! Three days ago I was waiting for a bus 45 minutes: they just don't go anywhere, although they usually go every 10 minutes. Sometimes passengers even have to push the bus from the snow. As for ice - I do not know how often the sidewalk sprinkle with a crumb, but I never slipped this winter, even very drunk. And with shoes everything is in order. It concerns the streets, and in the courtyards no one is responsible for spreading gravel, my grandmother recently fell on ice. But in Berlin in the winter is very slippery. Last year I felt as if I came to the rink without skates. "

Torgeir Vaa method

SWEDEN

efficiency, environmental friendliness, long-term result
need a special expensive technique


The method invented by Tourgeir WAA is introduced in Sweden in experimental order

In 2004, in Sweden introduced a new method of dealing with ice, which came up with Swedish scientist Torgeir Vaa. The fine sand in the proportion of 7 to 3 is mixed with hot water of 90-95 ° C and spray on the streets. Hot sand is wetted in the snow and makes the surface rough. This processing is enough for 3-7 days with daily traffic of about 1,500 cars. Or until a new snowfall passes.

Alternative chemicals

USA, Canada, New Zealand

Chloride Magnesium

high efficiency
more expensive than technical salt and causes
even stronger corrosion of metals


Great Salt Lakes in Utah

Americans and Canadians for cleaning streets and sidewalks are used mainly of magnesium chloride, which is mined on great salt lakes in Utah. MgCl2 contains less chlorine than other chlorides, and its effectiveness with less consumption is significantly higher. In the winter of 2010, Maryland spent $ 50 million for cleaning roads, Virginia is $ 79 million. In Canada, 1 billion dollars allocate on the maintenance of roads in winter.

Calcium-magnesium acetate
and calcium chloride


ecology
high cost, you can not use at low temperatures

Snowfall in Wellington

Calcium-magnesium acetate is used in most cities in New Zealand. For metals, it is not more harming water, and there is a slight impact by the absence of a chlorine ion. However, this chemical is used only to minus 7 ° C. Popular tool is also calcium chloride. By the way, its 10% solution is sold in pharmacies, and in the household conditions CaCl2 is used to prepare cottage cheese.


Urea


environmentally friendly

7 times more expensive salt, inffective

Suspended bridge, which is cleaned of snow with urea

From organic means is most often used urea. Due to low corrosion activity, it is usually used to remove ice with hanging bridges. Urea is non-toxic, but not enough effective for use in large cities.

No means

Japan and the remaining 230 countries


After the snowfall in the aomori prefecture

In the mountains of Japan in the winter dropping up to several meters of snow, and in the cities - 15-20 cm per night. As a result, by the end of winter, the sidewalks and long-distance roads turn into narrow snow canyons with walls height in 2 human growth and higher. However, the roads in Japan do not proceed, only feel snow. Therefore, in the cities, the ice is not such a rare phenomenon. At the same time, studded tires are prohibited in the country. By the way, the snow cleaning near the houses and on the sidewalks is the task of the residents themselves.

Opinion Ecologist


Semen Gordyshevsky, Chairman of the Board of the NP "St. Petersburg Ecological Union":"The best way is to remove snow on time and even on time. Finns and Swedes with this easily cope. Finland adopted the most secure environmental regulations that approve the minimum use of salt. In St. Petersburg, they are waiting for the snow to be drowning up to sleep, and then fall asleep her salt. Few people think about where the salt is moving from the streets. And she either falls into sewage stocks from sidewalks and snowfavior installations and then filtered on the sewage treatment plants, or flows with water into the channels and is taken into the bay. And, oddly enough, the first option is worse. The precipitate formed in the sewage treatment facilities is burned. A chlorine contained in salt, during combustion, it distinguishes very hazardous substances - dioxides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other connections. In St. Petersburg, there are 3 plants such a precipitate. And all the burnt household chemicals, detergents and salt in the form of dangerous compounds are spread from them by the wind in the city. "

"Highway" learned how the Finno-Ugry brothers struggle with snow in their cities

Normal day in the usual Finnish city of Lappeenranta. In the photo it is clearly noticeable that the Rotary Tractor Nozzle discardes the snow from the roadway for the pavement. Neither the road nor a pedestrian path is cleared to asphalt

In Russia, the time of complainants traditionally comes in winter. The population complains about the snow and ice on the roads. Special services are struggling with ice, richly sprinkling transport and pedestrian artery with a mixture of sand and salt. The complainants are unhappy with any other. Salt, in their opinion, corrosive cars and shoes, sand becomes the main pack. The complainants traditionally nod to neighboring Europe and, in particular, Finland, whose climate is similar to the Russian. In this regard, Denis Turkin has an interest in the Road Services of the Finno-Ugrome brothers: how are they fighting with ice? Are sands sprinkled? Or salt? Or what else?

Interlocutors

Complex tangled schemes, thanks to religious figures, book publishers and world web. "C" came out on the two inhabitants of Blessed Finland, which in this material are our experts. Mentally, make hands. Yucca repo. Engaged in the automotive business, he has its own company in the production of numbers. By the way, he lived in Russia for some time - in St. Petersburg and ... Saransk. Now lives in the village of Mukko near Lappeenranta. This place is noteworthy by the cartridge, named after the great Finnish rider Kimmi Raikkonen. The Pilot "Formula 1" in his youth trained in Lappeenranta, so by the name of the map there by the way ...

The second expert is Matti Himmi, something like the chief engineer on the roads in the municipality of Lappeenranta. It lies with the cleaning and the content of all local transport arteries. Lappeenranta by the number of inhabitants - about 80 thousand - inferior to Saransk, but in the area significantly surpasses it. If the capital of Mordovia takes 71.6 square kilometers, then the Finnish city is more than 1,700 "squares"! And even if the deduction of 200 square kilometers of the water surface, the remaining area should be impressed by the resident of Saransk. "Streets in Lappeenrante are more, and therefore, work for special services is significantly more than in Saransk," says Yucca repo.

Saving

As Matti Khimmi explains, Finland is considered to be at how expensive there will be snow cleaning. It can be said that economic feasibility is placed at the head of the corner. In this regard, there are three ways. The first is cleaning the carriageway with two trucks with dumps. The first rides in the middle of the road, the second climbs the remnants of the first, raking the snow to the sideline. The method is considered the most efficient and economical. The second is cleaning tractors with a rotary nozzle, which throws off the snow for several meters. And if trucks are the property of the municipality, then tractors belong to private owners. In winter, the city concludes an agreement with the owners of such a vehicle. In the summer, with tractors, snow removal equipment is removed and used in agriculture. It is also considered effective, because the technique is used all year round, bringing benefits and not idle in the garage. The third method is considered the most expensive. It is associated with snow removal outside the city on trucks from those areas where it is necessary.

Now that roads and sidewalks in Finland are sprinkled. Significant tracks and large streets are treated with a clean salt. True, as Matti Himmi notes, in the country gradually exclude this technology from life, since it is harmful to ecology: artesian sources are contaminated, harm is harmful ... sidewalks, pedestrian and cycling tracks (yes, residents of Suomi do not leave two-wheeled vehicles and winter! ) Sprinkle only granite crumbs and nothing more: they are not treated with salt! As for the sand. It can only be used on small rustic roads, in the cities it does not apply.

With spikes and without

In secondary rural tracks, they specifically leave the snow-row, so that when cleaning does not damage the coating. Other transport arteries are trying to clean up asphalt, but without fanaticism, so as not to damage the coating. In the cities there are no direct requirements for road users to clean the road to asphalt. It's just not necessary that there is no need, since the overwhelming majority of passenger cars in Finland in winter are equipped with studded tires. According to Yukki repo, such motorists help those who go on friction tires without thorns. How? Metal explodes ice, improving the hook! Such is the opinion. But an interesting trend. Recently, in the Nordic countries, such as Sweden and Finland, the number of machines on untapped tires began to grow. Local drivers are thus trying to minimize the harm caused by spikes to the road surface. And the officials explain to them that the purchase of cheaper tires, which are friction, is economically beneficial. But there are no strict legislative restrictions in this regard yet, so most travels on the old manner - on spikes.

The main conclusion that our experts make is not the way the roads in Finland are well cleaned. And what car rubber is used by the Finns, making their travel safe. That is, the emphasis is on the consciousness of the driver and its attitude towards winter driving. By the way, in this country there is a rule that prohibits the operation of the winter tire with a residual tread depth of less than 6 millimeters. I did not fulfill it - get a big penalty! For comparison, in Russia only from January 1, 2015 began to operate "Winter Tire Standard", but it is much softer. In our country, the residual depth of the tread can be 4 mm.

Speed

Is the high-speed limitation on Finland's tracks in winter? Yes. According to Yukki repo, on motorways, where in summer the maximum allowed is 100 km / h, in winter it is forbidden to accelerate more than 80 km / h. On new large highways built in the last five years, limiting flexible depending on the current weather. There in some areas there are own miniature meteorological stations. According to their testimony, road builders set high-speed limitations and warn about it drivers using interactive electronic scoreboards that are on the track. For example, during a conversation with Finnish experts, which was held on February 2, in the outskirts of Lappeenranta walked ice rain and there was bad visibility. The situation was complicated, so the road builders decided to establish a low high-speed limitation. In the winter cities, nothing changes, there is a limit from 30 to 60 km / h. "Of course, if it is slippery, people try to ride people," says Yucca repo. "When he lived in your country, I was amazed by some Russians, who and the ice allowed himself to accelerate to 100 km / h and higher. This is unacceptable".

By the way

According to Yukki repo, in Finland there is such an order: if you broke, for example, the leg, when slipped, then your treatment pays the firm responsible for cleaning the territory where you are not lucky to fall.

"People in Finland are responsible for their work," says businessman. - Personal responsibility motivates. If I work well, it means that no one falls on my territory and I will not need to pay compensation. But if bad, then I will not have money for life. "

In each high-rise building in this country there is a board of home management, which includes active tenants. They conclude contracts with third-party cleaning firms and make decisions for the neighbors.

Finns sometimes find quite successful solutions of various household issues. Finland is a northern country, so there is a lot of snow in winter, in winter. Too much snow and ice. This makes difficulties in ensuring a safe car ride in the winter. Only winter tires Nokian is not enough. In addition, in terms of cars there are still pedestrians and bicycles. Many believe that the only way to fight ice and snow on the roads is to water the roadway and sidewalk reagents, from which snow and ice are melted, providing direct contact of the car tires with an expensive. However, there are other interesting ways that are used in Finland and we will tell you today.

Various chemical reagents, even such as salt, of course purify the road, but at the same time cause significant harm to the environment: they spoil the cars themselves, shoes. Many are very dissatisfied with the fact that their car is rotting faster, and the boots in winter are constantly in white divorces.

Gravel instead of reagents and sand

You can sprinkle the road with sand, but the sand is lit. the city, which is already filled with dust without that spring. Finns Very often instead of sand and reagents use fine gravel. The size of the gravel crumb, which the roads sprinkle in Finland, from a few millimeters to a centimeter, that is, it is not sand and not dust, but small sharp pebbles.


Thus looks pebbles that the Finns sprinkle the road in winter

Pebbles work very effectively. Pebbles are sharp and cut into the ice and sole of shoes or the tire protector of your car or bike, providing good grip with the road and on the snow and on the ice. Pebbles do not need to pour every day, but only when the snow fell, or because of the weather conditions on the road is ice. Sprinkled with stones and they lie until the next snowfall. I do not know how often the stones have to roll, but it seems to me on average, it turns out more than once a week. Stones work very quite well, providing good contact with expensive pedestrians, bicycles and cars moving at small speeds in the city.

Stones have another substantial plus. In addition, the stones are natural for the environment, in contrast to chemical reagents, they can be collected and used on the second time. Pebbles are pretty heavy and unlike the sand remains until spring on the place where they were poured. In the spring, as soon as the frosts are stopped, the pebbles are very quickly collected throughout Finland.


Several tractors in a couple of hours can collect stones on the whole street ...

Pebbles are collected, firstly, to use the next winter, because the Finns are very economical. And secondly, to clean the driving part. As soon as the snow comes out, pebbles on the road become somewhat dangerous. A bunch of pebbles, scattered across asphalt, behaves like a bunch of small balls. If you dramatically slow down on pebbles on asphalt without ice and snow, then the car or bike will be switched on. At low speeds up to 40 km / h, this is not critical, but at high speeds it becomes dangerous.


In the spring, pebbles can even become dangerous, as they behave like balls on the asphalt ...

Pebbles are very effective, especially in the city center, where many pedestrians, and the cars are moving slowly. On the largest tracks, pebbles do not work, so in Finland on high-speed highways, too, the carriage of the reagent is also watered.


Spring sun heated pebbles and they fell under the ice ...


And pebbles all under the ice ...


Spring pebbles for some time almost do not work ...

Also pebbles do not work in the spring when the ice is led. In the spring of the day, black stones, in contrast to white snow, quickly heated and "fall" through the ice cover on the road. By night, again frost, there are no more stones on the road, but a solid ice. But this situation lasts long. At this time, it is necessary to be just a little more accurate. But in winter, at all we must ride and walk more carefully. Therefore, in our opinion, Finnish pebbles are a very effective environmentally friendly solution to the security problem in winter for a small town.


In the spring, all waste and driving part in Finland are wasting with a layer of stones ...

In Finland, almost all cities are very small. Are there pebbles for a big city? In our opinion, quite, especially in the city center, in pedestrian zones. How expensive to use such gravel? It seems to us that no more expensive than chemical reagents or sand. In both cases, to pour the reagent and scatter sand or stones, you need a car. So the cost of the number of scattering the stones is the same. Perhaps stones are more expensive, but they can be used repeatedly. Special technique collects stones very quickly. Several Finnish tractors in a couple of hours can clean the whole street. Look at our video and make sure how simple it is: