Living in Finland: Retrograde Steps

Retrograde Steps

The City of Oulu in Finland used to be of the very best cities in the world for pedestrians, cycles and slow moving mopos and scooters, as they had separate tracks for these apart from the roads. Only in the city centre, where all traffic is slow moving, did the scooters merge with the road traffic.

It was possible for me to go from our home to the office without once driving on the road. It was fast and safe.

Some pedestrians, quite unwarrantedly, started a campaign to take the scooters off these special tracks. Last week this was implemented.

My first reaction after driving my scooter on the roads was that the number of fatal accidents of scooter drivers is going to increase sharply. Also it will be quite impossible for scooter drivers to be on the road once the snow arrives. I used to be able to drive my scooter all through winter. albeit slowly, when I was driving on the slow moving tracks.

The reason why accidents will increase is that most scooters do not have the power to drive at the speed limits set for the roads - 40, 50, 60 and 80 kmph. 40 kmph YES. 50 kmph at a stretch, YES. But 60 and 80 kmph is quite impossible.

Hence, motorists - car and truck drivers will be impatient when they come up behind a slow moving scooter, and the impatience will make them to swing out into the centre to overtake these scooters.

This will have two effects. The oncoming traffic will be jeopardised and secondly, when these bigger vehicles overtake these light weight scooters, they will cause the scooters to wobble and be unstable.

As a result the only conclusion to expect will be a possible accident of either the larger vehicle or the scooter.

People will express concern, but it must be said that these activists who lobbied for this quite unnecessary change - will have blood on their hands!

Speed cameras - A DANGER

Yesterday, I made a quick trip to Tampere, about 500 km south of Oulu.

I chose a route which is the shortest, rather than the conventional one which is the major artery. Although it is only a few kilometres shorter, the time indicated in the Navigator was almost an hour longer than the other route.

Driving along the smaller country roads was extremely pleasant. Even moren to my surprise, was that there was not a single speed radar camera on the route. This meant that I, and other drivers, were not constantly looking out for the traps. The driving was smooth and easy.

Everyone was observing the indicated speed limits. I did see a couple of Police Vans prowling the route, but no incidents.

The time taken was actually slightly less than the Fastest Route because of the fact that we did not have to keep braking for the cameras.

More important was that my fuel consumption was considerably less.

Two days ago, the State of Arizona in the USA outlawed the use of Speed Cameras as an invasion of privacy.

I had posted a comment there which tackled some important points.

One of the most important points I raised was that while driving at around midnight before sunrise, if I had my headlights on, I was able to see all the road signs. But if there was an on-coming car and I switched to my dip lights, I was unable to see the road signs and the change of speed signs, which usually precede a speed camera, and hence it was a violation of the law to haul anyone up in the dark hours for breaking the speed limit when caught by a speed camera.

The most important aspect is that it does no good to road safety. In fact is more of a danger.

Tne only reason that these speed cameras exists is to collect revenue from the motorists.

Tragedy of the Tsunami - Our deepest concerns

An Open Letter

Dear President & Prime Minister of India,

My wife and I share with you and all the people of the region the grief that is in many homes, and among the many homeless, these days, as the effect of the Tsunami tragedy unfolds here on an hour by hour basis.

Today, we, in Finland, also mourn around 263 of this countries nationals who appear to have been engulfed in this horrific wave. To see over 120,000 people of the world die in this tragedy and many millions more in dire situations, breaks our heart, mainly as we realise our helplessness.

It appears that none of our immediate family was lost in this event. But many dear friends still appear unaccounted for. We hope and pray that they are safe and well.

What concerns us more, however, is the news that India would be joining with the US Government in organising the relief efforts in the region. That is of greatest worry to us.

As you are aware the US Government has been part of an “illegal” war in Iraq where many hundred thousand people are being done to death, even as we write this to you.

No less a person than the most respected Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, has declared that the war on Iraq is illegal.

Also, in a effort to control the region, the US Administration have wiped out the indigenous law and industry in Iraq, and also given numerous no-bid contracts to their favoured companies, such as Bechtel, Halliburton, the Carlyle Group, to name just a few.

The rape of a tortured nation continues despite the human tragedy of that region.

For the Indian Government to be associated with a criminal Administration in such a massive relief operation associated with the Tsunami, would cast the Indian Government in the eyes of the world in a very bad light.

May we urge you that the original stance taken by your Government that the Indian Relief effort could and would be managed by itself without any association with outside Governments, would be upheld.

May we bring to your attention that the US Administration is very anxious to get information about the strategic defence organisation in the crucial Vishakapatnam - Port Blair axis, and any relief effort with the involvement of the US Administration will be to compromise the defence capabilities of your and our nation.

We all know that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Condeleeza Rice, and many others in the US Administration, past and to be installed, have provided false statements in many public fora, including the UN.

It is our greatest concern that you will safe-guard the Indian nation from playing into the hands of this neo-con right wing Christian religious fundamentalist group whose only objective appears to be to establish their foothold, by means fair and foul, in the South Asia region.

Being Christians ourselves, with the family traditions of the late doyens of Kerala, K. C. Mammen Mappillai and Dewan Bahadur Kuriyan Matthan of Mysore, and Padma Bushans, the late K. M. Cherian, K. M. Philip and K. M. Mathew, and Padma Shri the late K. M. Mammen Mappillai, makes this even more nauseating as this American Christian fundamentalist group only poses to be Christian as they further their personal agenda.

May we repeat our deepest condolences to all the people of India who have been affected by this tragedy.

As the old year ends and the New Year dawns, we hope that the region will be blessed with peace and calm as it rebuilds itself from this horrific calamity.


Yours sincerely

Annikki and Jacob Matthan
Oulu, Finland