Road Traffic Safety Development Trends in Latvia

Authors

  • Juris Kreicbergs Latvian Road Traffic Safety Directorate, Riga, Latvia; Department of Automotive Engineering, Transport Institute, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Transport and Aeronautics, Riga Technical University, Riga, Latvia
  • Juris Smirnovs Department of Roads and Bridges, Transportation Engineering Institute, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Riga Technical University, Riga, Latvia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3709-7179
  • Aldis Lama Latvian Road Traffic Safety Directorate, Riga, Latvia
  • Janis Smirnovs Department of Roads and Bridges, Transportation Engineering Institute, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Riga Technical University, Riga, Latvia
  • Atis Zarins Department of Roads and Bridges, Transportation Engineering Institute, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Riga Technical University, Riga, Latvia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7250/bjrbe.2021-16.539

Keywords:

road traffic safety, road fatalities, car ownership, vehicle mileage, traffic accidents, drivers, traffic safety indicators

Abstract

The main focus of this article is on the road traffic safety development trends in Latvia. Soon after the regain of independence at the beginning of the 1990s, road traffic safety characteristics in Latvia were the worst in the Latvian history. The increase of car availability and affordability made the car a major road vehicle. The implementation of road safety programmes contributed to essential improvement of road traffic safety in Latvia. The number of road accident fatalities in 2020 compared to 1991 decreased more than sevenfold. Nevertheless, the current Latvian road traffic safety statistics is well below the average level of the EU member states and even the pandemics did not cause similar reduction as in most member states. This indicates that great improvement is still needed. The article shows the Latvian experience in road traffic safety enhancements and discusses the measures to improve road traffic safety.

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Published

28.12.2021

How to Cite

Kreicbergs, J., Smirnovs, J., Lama, A., Smirnovs, J., & Zarins, A. (2021). Road Traffic Safety Development Trends in Latvia. The Baltic Journal of Road and Bridge Engineering, 16(4), 58-75. https://doi.org/10.7250/bjrbe.2021-16.539