According to Latvian State Roads (LVC) "driving conditions are difficult throughout the country" Wednesday morning, with especially difficult driving conditions on the Tallinn highway (A1) in the Tūja-Ainaži section.
Roads are being steadily cleared of snow, and slippery road sections are being sprinkled with anti-slip materials.
Difficult driving on the country's main roads are noted at:
- Tallinn highway (A1) along its entire length;
- Vidzeme highway (A2) in the section from Riga to Vireši;
- Valmiera highway (A3) along its entire length;
- Riga ring road (Baltezers-Saulkalne) (A4) and (Salaspils-Babīte) (A5) along their entire lengths;
- Daugavpils highway (A6) along its entire length;
- Bauska highway (A7) along its entire length;
- Jelgava highway (A8) along its entire length;
- Liepāja highway (A9) in the section from Kalvene to Riga;
- Ventspils highway (A10) in the section from Riga to Usma
- Rēzekne highway (A12) Jēkabpils to Varakļani;
- Highway Grebneva-Medumi (A13) in the section from Daugavpils to Špogi;
- Daugavpils ring road (A14) along its entire length;
Driving on regional and minor roads is difficult throughout Latvia.
According to forecasts, Wednesday will be mainly cloudy, with skies only clearing form the south later in the day. It will snow in many places, often heavily in the north of the country. Roads will be slippery and visibility will be reduced with moderate but sometimes gusty winds. Air temperatures will hover around freezing point in the range . +1 Celsius to -4° C, a degree or two warmer along the coast.
Labrīt, šodien mākoņains, vakarā no D skaidrosies. Daudzviet sniegs, Z rajonos snigs stipri un puteņos. Ceļi būs slideni un redzamība pasliktināta! Mērens DR/D vējš, pēcpusdienā piekrastes rajonos mēreni stiprs, brāzmās 15-19m/s. Gaisa temp. +1…-4°, jūras piekrastē +1…+3°. pic.twitter.com/qJNqqY52Pu
— Meteo.lv (@LVGMC_Meteo) December 14, 2022
LVC reminds drivers that during snowfall, the snow layer and icing can form repeatedly and journeys are likely to take considerably longer than usual. It is important to choose a driving speed appropriate to the weather conditions and leave a greater distance to the vehicles in front.
Snow clearance works are carried out in priority order, first working on main, then regional and then local roads. LVC emphasized that the purpose of the maintenance works is to improve driving conditions as much as possible, but they cannot prevent winter.
After the end of snowfall, the country's main highways must be cleared of snow within three hours, while less busy roads are given up to 24 hours for this work. You can see an interactive map of current road conditions at: https://lvceli.lv/#_brauksanas_apstakli_ziema
Unsurprisingly, the treacherous conditions are resulting in a greater number of accidents. Usually, the number of road traffic accidents does not exceed 100 per day. On Monday, it was 154 and on Tuesday 123.
Juris Jančevskis, head of the Traffic Safety Department of the State Police, stated: "This amount of snow surprised many drivers. Many may not have prepared for it, they have not changed their winter driving habits in time. Of course, this can also lead to accidents. The largest number of accidents is always in the Riga region."
