On November 8, during daily traffic monitoring on the streets of Riga, officers of the Special Tasks Department of the Traffic Safety Management Office of the State Police found several drivers who grossly violated the permitted speed limit in a populated area, leading to fines and in some cases lost licenses.
The worst of the bunch were two BMW drivers who were recorded doing a speed of 158 km/h and 159 km/h in a 70 km/h zone, who were apparently engaged in a street race with a Nissan driving only slightly slower.
The two drivers of the BMWs were fined 1,400 euros and their driving rights were revoked, while the driver of the Nissan was fined 1,040 euros and banned from driving.
Approximately two hours later, employees of the Special Tasks Department of the Traffic Safety Management Office of the State Police recorded another serious speeding violation on the Southern Bridge. Instead of the permitted 70 km/h, the driver of yet another BMW drove at the magic speed of 159 km/h. This driver was also stopped and fined 1,600 euros, as well as having his driving license revoked – and reinforcing the urban stereotype of Latvia's 'bembis' brigade.
