Nine cyclists have died in road accidents this year, 189 have been injured and 21 severely injured.
Since 2017, 77 cyclists have died on Latvia's roads, of which 34 have been involved in crashes within residential areas and 43 outside. In recent years, the number of accidents is declining, but not rapidly enough.
“In recent years, we have seen a lot of work being done, and [..] we have to take steps to make cities more friendly to motorists,” said Ilze Šipkēvica, Head of the CSDD Communications Department.
The women's amateur cycling club Latvian Cycling Girls, in cooperation with the Road Safety Directorate, is launching a “One Way for All” initiative to draw attention to the fact that the mutual respect and understanding of both motorists and cyclists and pedestrians about safety will help to avoid accidents.
“Cyclists are part of society, there is a lot of us, we are becoming more and more every year, and we will have to live together on all those roads,” said Zane Kalverša-Ķeņģe, spokeswoman for Latvian Cycling Girls.