At the end of June, several tragic accidents with fatalities occurred on Latvian roads in the span of a few days. In the first six months of this year, the number of serious accidents involving trucks doubled.
At Wednesday's press conference, the Minister of Transport said that the situation on Latvia's roads is critical and that at the political level, improving road safety will be one of the ministry's top priorities in the future. Therefore, there will be an increased focus on improving road infrastructure, as well as speed limit enforcement.
The Minister said that a decision has been taken to triple the number of average speed cameras on Latvian roads. Currently, average speed cameras are in operation on 16 road sections. The current map of average speed cameras can be found here.
Briškens also said that "monetary incentive instruments are needed", which is why the Transport Ministry plans to push for changes that would also fine drivers for exceeding the speed limit by up to 10 km/h.
Currently, drivers can only receive a warning for speeding up to 10 km/h.
"It is very important to raise public awareness that a penalty is inevitable. It is clear that it is not enough to simply strengthen penalties. [..] We also need to think about the technical condition of the cars and the skills of the drivers. This is also a story about the overall driving culture in Latvia," said the Minister.
