Government proposes approval of amendments to Road Traffic Convention

The Government gave a proposal to Parliament by which the amendments to the Road Traffic Convention would be approved and brought into force. The main objective of the amendments is to coordinate the International Road Traffic Convention with the current UN Regulations concerning lighting devices.

The Government proposes that Parliament approve the amendments to the Road Traffic Convention of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). In addition, the Government proposes that Parliament approve the reservation to the amendments concerning warning lamps. The legislative proposal included would bring the amendments to the Convention into force.

The purpose of the amendments to the Road Traffic Convention is to harmonise the regulations of conventions concerning lighting and signalling devices. The amendments are needed mainly because of the development of technologies.

The Government proposes a reservation to the section in the Convention according to which emergency vehicles could use blue or red lights. Red light has traditionally been associated with mandatory stopping, which is why the use of red light for warning is not considered appropriate in Finland.

Finland ratified the International Road Traffic Convention of 1968 in 1986. The Convention was brought into force in Finland by the Road Traffic Act. The UNECE Working Party on Road Traffic Safety has prepared amendments concerning vehicle lighting and signalling devices and their use since 2011. The amendments were approved in March 2023.

Next steps

A referral debate will be held on the government proposal in the plenary session of Parliament. The date of the session will be announced on Parliament’s website.

After the plenary session the proposal will be considered by the Committee and, after it has given its report, the processing of the matter will continue in the plenary session.

The amendments to the Convention must be approved by 9 August 2024.

Inquiries:

Juuso Suomento, Senior Specialist, juuso.suomento(at)gov.fi, tel. +358 50 347 7499

Sofia Johansson, Senior Specialist, sofia.johansson(at)gov.fi, tel. +358 50 573 7908