FinlandFinland

Drive on the right and normally overtake on the left.

Call 112 for urgent police, ambulance, fire or other emergency assistance. Finland uses a single national emergency number.

The drink-driving threshold is 0.5‰ (0.5 g/l) of alcohol in the blood. Aggravated drink-driving can apply from 1.2‰.

The general maximum speed is 50 km/h, unless signs indicate another limit. Lower limits are common in residential areas and city centres.

The general maximum speed is 80 km/h, unless traffic signs indicate another limit.

Motorway speed limits are commonly up to 120 km/h during the summer season. Many motorway and main-road limits are reduced for winter and the darker part of the year, so drivers must always follow the posted speed limit.

Yes. Finland introduces lower seasonal speed limits on many main roads during the darker winter period. A road with a 100 km/h summer limit, for example, will often be reduced to 80 km/h.

No. Finland currently uses no road tolls, motorway vignettes or emission stickers for ordinary road use.

Yes. A motor vehicle must use headlights or daytime running lights whenever it is being driven. In darkness, twilight or poor visibility, headlights and rear lights must be used.

Winter tyres must be used between 1 November and 31 March when weather or road conditions require them. Drivers must therefore consider both current conditions and the conditions expected during the journey.

Studded tyres may normally be used from 1 November to 31 March. They may also be used outside that period when weather or road conditions require them.

Seat belts must be used by drivers and passengers on seats equipped with them, subject to specific legal exemptions.

Children shorter than 135 cm must generally use an appropriate child-restraint system. The Finnish Road Safety Council recommends continuing to use a suitable restraint or booster until the child is about 150 cm tall.

Motorcycle and moped riders and passengers must wear an approved protective helmet. Cyclists and bicycle passengers are also generally required by the Road Traffic Act to wear an appropriate bicycle helmet.

A driver of a motor vehicle may not hold a communication device in the hand while driving. Other technical devices must also not be used in a way that interferes with or endangers driving.

At an intersection where priority is not otherwise regulated, drivers must generally give way to traffic approaching from the right. Signs and other special priority rules can override this rule.

Drivers must give unobstructed passage to pedestrians who are on a pedestrian crossing or are about to enter it and must approach crossings at a speed that allows them to stop safely.

No. A cyclist entering a carriageway from a cycle path must generally give way to traffic on the carriageway unless signs or another priority rule require drivers to give way. A turning driver must give way to cyclists and pedestrians crossing the road the driver is turning onto.

In a residential zone, the maximum speed is 20 km/h. Drivers must adapt their speed to pedestrians and give them unobstructed passage.

Yes. In a built-up area on a two-way road, a vehicle may also be stopped or parked on the left side when this can be done without endangering or unnecessarily obstructing traffic.

Wildlife is an important road hazard, particularly outside towns. Drivers should take elk, deer and reindeer warning signs seriously, reduce speed and remain alert, especially around dawn, dusk and in northern Finland. If you collide with a reindeer or wild animal, call 112.

A car must have a warning triangle. It is also strongly recommended to carry a high-visibility vest, flashlight and warm clothing, particularly when travelling during winter or through remote areas.

Yes. Since May 2026, a 17-year-old passenger-car driver may not drive between 00:00 and 05:00. Further identification requirements for 17-year-old drivers are scheduled to apply from October 2026.