COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Monitoring Road Safety Progress in the EU - Latvia Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Report on the Implementation of the EU Road Safety Policy Framework at the Mid-Point
Date: 2026-02-13
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: EU investment, Latvia, accident prevention, common transport policy, innovation, road safety, road transport, transport accident, transport infrastructure, transport statistics

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 13.2.2026  SWD(2026) 48 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Monitoring Road Safety Progress in the EU - Latvia Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Report on the Implementation of the EU Road Safety Policy Framework at the Mid-Point {COM(2026) 77 final} - {SWD(2026) 33 final} - {SWD(2026) 34 final} - {SWD(2026) 35 final} - {SWD(2026) 36 final} - {SWD(2026) 37 final} - {SWD(2026) 38 final} - {SWD(2026) 39 final} - {SWD(2026) 40 final} - {SWD(2026) 41 final} - {SWD(2026) 42 final} - {SWD(2026) 43 final} - {SWD(2026) 44 final} - {SWD(2026) 45 final} - {SWD(2026) 46 final} - {SWD(2026) 47 final} - {SWD(2026) 49 final} - {SWD(2026) 50 final} - {SWD(2026) 51 final} - {SWD(2026) 52 final} - {SWD(2026) 53 final} - {SWD(2026) 54 final} - {SWD(2026) 55 final} - {SWD(2026) 56 final} - {SWD(2026) 57 final} - {SWD(2026) 58 final} - {SWD(2026) 59 final}  
 
 
Contents 

1. 

2. 

2.1. 

2.2. 

2.3. 

2.4. 

2.5. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

4. 

4.1. 

Summary ............................................................................................................ 2 

Road Safety Strategy and Measures .................................................................. 3 

Road Safety Strategy...................................................................................... 3 

Road Safety Governance................................................................................ 3 

Main Safety Issues ......................................................................................... 4 

Road Safety Targets ....................................................................................... 4 

Road Safety Measures.................................................................................... 5 

Road Safety Progress ......................................................................................... 5 

Road Safety Outcomes ................................................................................... 5 

Road Safety Performance Indicators ............................................................. 7 

Monitoring Road Safety Strategy Implementation ............................................ 8 

Implementation Progress ............................................................................... 8 

4.2. 
Plan 2021-2027" .......................................................................................................... 11 

The informative report "Mid-term Impact Assessment of the Road Traffic Safety 

4.3. 

4.4. 

5. 

Best Practices ............................................................................................... 12 

Gaps ............................................................................................................. 12 

Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................ 13 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Latvia 

1. Summary 

In  2024,  Latvia  was  substantially  above  the  EU  average  (45),  with  60  road  fatalities  per 
million inhabitants. Compared to 2019, a decrease of 15% in road fatalities was achieved.  

Compared to the EU average, the distribution of fatalities in Latvia showed a high proportion 
of pedestrians and fatalities occurred on roads outside urban areas. Also, the total number of 
injured cyclists has increased over the last years, while inappropriate speed remains the main 
cause for fatal crashes.  

In the Road Traffic Safety Plan of Latvia for 2021-2027, the targets of halving the numbers 
of road fatalities and serious injuries by 2030 compared to 2020 have been set. This means 
that road fatalities and serious injuries should be reduced by 35% in 2027. The plan includes 
four additional targets for the reduction of fatalities, aiming to address the main road safety 
issues identified in the country (i.e. vulnerable road users, passenger car occupants, etc.). Also, 
quantitative targets for 8 road safety performance indicators have been set (speed, use of 
protective equipment, drink driving, driver distraction, vehicle safety, infrastructure, post-crash 
care) for 2027 and 2030. 

The Latvian Road Traffic Safety Plan, based on the progress of the previous years, has defined 
a set of 33 road safety measures divided in three lines of action. The Plan also determines 
the responsible authorities and the deadlines for the implementation of the lines of action, as 
well as the necessary financing.   

Based on the latest available data for 2024, Latvia is making reasonably good progress but 
is currently not on track to reach the 2030 target of halving the number of fatalities, with 
a 15% decrease since 2019. Between 2019 and 2023, the number of serious injuries fell by 
16%.  

Regarding progress in the implementation of the road safety actions foreseen in the road traffic 
safety  action  plan  for  the  period  2021-2024,  there  is  a  smooth  implementation  flow,  with 
some delays being reported in some areas, attributed mainly to lack of funding. Latvia starts 
from  a  medium  level  in  most  examined  road  safety  areas.  Based  on  the  self-reported 
assessment, the baseline is assessed as medium in 16 out of the 26 road safety areas and low in 
8 areas. The baseline is assessed as high in the areas related to communication campaigns.  

In 2024, the majority of the planned measures are on track. Only the measures related to 
communication campaigns have been completed, while in 6 areas, the implementation of the 
measures has been delayed. The pillars of safe road user behaviour and safe speeds are more 
advanced, while in the pillars of vehicle safety post-crash care, there are more delays.  

Latvia has proceeded to its own assessment of the implementation progress of the Plan up to 
2025 and its impact on road safety. The informative report "Mid-term Impact Assessment of 
the Road Traffic Safety Plan 2021-2027", which is currently under review from the Cabinet 
of  Ministers,  analyses  the  main  lines  of  action  set  out  in  the  Plan  and  the  results  of  their 
implementation. In this report, it is recognised that the 2027 targets may not be met with the 
existing measures and, therefore, a series of new measures are proposed to be implemented. 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Among  the  best  practices  are  the  successful  communication  campaigns,  especially  those 
against drink-driving for the last ten years, although the problem of drunk driving also remains 
and the challenges in solving it are different - wider police control, application of penalties, 
introduction of alcolocks, etc. Also, legislation for the safety of e-scooters has been introduced 
in the Latvian Road Traffic Law.  

The main gap reported for the proper implementation of some measures of the strategic plan is 
the lack of the necessary funding from the state budget. While there is some funding from the 
Road  Traffic  Safety  Council  (RTSC),  the  available  amount  is  limited.  This  mainly  affects 
measures, such as safety interventions on rural roads, as well as the lack of human resources in 
traffic police. Furthermore, the reluctance to take unpopular but important road safety decisions 
at  political  level  and  the  lack  of  support  from  society  are  also  among  the  challenges  to  be 
overcome, e.g., driving above the speed limit has a high tolerance. 

Progress in the implementation of the foreseen actions appears to be broadly well on track, 
which  is  also  reflected  in  the  evolution  of  the  number  of  fatalities,  with  Latvia  making 
reasonably good progress albeit not currently on track to meet the 2030 target. However, the 
road safety performance of Latvia is still low, compared to the other EU countries. Based on 
the self-reported assessment, funding for road safety is not adequate so far, as well as a lack of 
political will to date to make unpopular road safety decisions (on penalties, stricter regulations). 
Therefore,  new  additional  measures  have  been  prepared  in  the  report  Mid-term  Impact 
Assessment of the Road Traffic Safety Plan 2021-2027, to complement the existing plan to 
help move towards achieving the plan's goals and better performance.  

2. Road Safety Strategy and Measures 

2.1.  Road Safety Strategy 

The  Road  Traffic  Safety  Plan  of  Latvia  for  2021-2027  was  adopted  by  the  Cabinet  of 
Ministers on October 6, 2021, through Order No. 712. 

The Latvian Road Traffic Safety Plan for 2021-2027 has been developed to achieve the policy 
results brought forward in the EU policy planning documents, including the policy planning 
document EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030 - Next Steps Towards "Vision Zero", 
i.e. to reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries from road traffic accidents by 50 % 
by 2030 in comparison to 2020.  

Table 17.1: National road safety strategy  

Timeframe 
Lead Authority 

Link 

2.2.  Road Safety Governance 

Latvia 
2021-2027 
Ministry of Transport 

https://likumi.lv/ta/id/326640 

The  Ministry  of  Transport  is  responsible  for  the  formulation  of  the  national  road  safety 
strategy.  

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Also,  Road  Traffic  Safety  Council  (The  Council  approved  by  the  Government  consists  of 
governmental/state administration and municipal administration bodies and representatives of 
NGOs) is responsible for the monitoring of road safety developments in the country. 

2.3.  Main Safety Issues 

The study "Evaluation of the Impact of the Road Traffic Safety Plan 2017-2020" was used 
in  the  development  of  the  current  Plan,  outlining  the  priority  issues  and  main  directions  of 
action.  Based  on  the  results  of  the  period  2010-2020  compared  to  the  previous  targets,  the 
following main issues arise1: 

•  Safety  of  Vulnerable  Road  Users:  pedestrians  account  for  23.5%  of  killed  and 
seriously injured persons; cyclists for 16% and powered two-wheelers for about 10%.  

•  Driving under the influence of alcohol among PTWs:  4.7% of motorcycle riders, 
20.0%  of  quadricycle  drivers  and  22.5%  of  moped  riders  involved  in  injury  crashes 
were under the influence of alcohol in 2019. 

•  The  main  causes  of  crashes  with  fatalities  during  the  period  2014-2019  were 
“selection of inappropriate speed”, “improper safety  assurance before manoeuvring” 
and “presence of a pedestrian on the carriageway”. 

•  “Selection of inappropriate speed” was the cause for at least 13.9% of crashes with 

serious injuries and 20.7% of crashes with fatalities. 

2.4.  Road Safety Targets 

In compliance with  the EU road safety  targets  for the decade 2021-2030, Latvia adopts the 
targets of halving road fatalities and serious injuries by 2030 compared to 2020. This means 
a 35% reduction in fatalities and serious injuries by 2027. Targets for road casualties as 
well as for road safety performance indicators have been set in the Latvian Action Plan2.  

Table 17.2: Targets for road crash casualties 

1.  Killed persons 

2.  Seriously injured persons 

3.  Killed VRUs 

4.  Killed passenger car occupants 

5.  Injured children 
6.  Crash  severity  (Fatalities/  100 

crashes with injury) 

Baseline 
(2020) 
139 

2027 
(% change) 
-35% 

2030 
(% change) 
-50% 

491 

69 

64 

394 

4.1 

-35% 

-35% 

-35% 

-35% 

-35% 

-50% 

-50% 

-50% 

-50% 

-50% 

Table 17.3: Targets for road safety performance indicators  

1 Road Traffic Safety Plan for 2021-2027, available at: https://likumi.lv/ta/id/326640 
2 Road Traffic Safety Plan for 2021-2027, available at: https://likumi.lv/ta/id/326640 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(Baseline year = 2020) 

2027 
(% change) 

2030 
(% change) 

1.  %  of  vehicles  not  observing  the 

permitted speed limits 

2.  % of vehicle occupants not using seat-

belts and CRS 

3.  % of PTWs not using a helmet 
4.  % of drivers driving with BAC over 

the legal limit 

5.  %  of  drivers  using  mobile  devices 

while driving 

6.  %  of  new  vehicles  meeting  the 

highest safety requirements 

7.  % of roads meeting the highest safety 

requirements 
8.  EMS response time 

-35% 

-35% 

-35% 

-35% 

-35% 

+35% 

+35% 

-35% 

-50% 

-50% 

-50% 

-50% 

-50% 

+50% 

+50% 

-50% 

2.5.  Road Safety Measures 

A total of 33 road safety measures divided in three lines of action are included in the road 
safety  strategic  plan  of  Latvia  for  the  period  2021-20273.  The  Plan  also  determines  the 
responsible authorities and the deadlines for the implementation of lines of action, as well as 
the necessary financing. In addition, each measure is linked to specific targets for road crash 
casualties and performance indicators. 

Table 17.4: Road safety measures and lines of action 

Lines of Action 

1.  Safe road user 

2.  Safe vehicle 

3.  Safe environment 

Total 

3. Road Safety Progress 

3.1.  Road Safety Outcomes 

Measures 

12 

11 

10 

33 

Based  on  data  for  2024,  Latvia  was  23rd  out  of the  27  EU  countries  in  terms  of  the  lowest 
number of fatalities per million inhabitants. In fact, 60 road fatalities per million inhabitants 
were recorded that year, which is well above the EU average (45).  

3 Road Traffic Safety Plan for 2021-2027, available at: https://likumi.lv/ta/id/326640 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 17.1 Mortality rates by country, 2024  

Sources: CARE database on road crashes; population data from Eurostat (online data code demo_pjan). 

Figure 17.2 Road fatalities and target 2030  
(Source CARE database) 4 

4 It is noted that the global COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the CARE data for 2020 and 2021 for many 
European countries. Traffic volumes dropped sharply during the pandemic due to traffic restrictions, which was 
associated with a significant drop in road traffic crashes and fatalities. 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 17.3 Serious road injuries  
(Source: CARE database)5 

Latvia  made  reasonably  good  progress  in  achieving  a  reduction  of  15%  in  road  fatalities 
between 20195 and 2024. However, it is currently not on track to meet the 2030 target of 
halving the number of road fatalities. Between 2019 and 2023, the number of serious injuries 
fell by 16%..  
Compared to the EU average, the distribution of fatalities in Latvia showed a high proportion 
of  pedestrians  and  fatalities  occurred  on  roads  outside  urban  areas6.  In  fact,  30%  of  killed 
people  in  road  crashes  were  pedestrians  in  2024  and  50%  of  road  crash  fatalities  occurred 
outside urban areas, on non-motorway roads. It is noted that there are no motorways in Latvia. 

3.2.  Road Safety Performance Indicators 

Latvia performs better than the EU average in relation to seat belt use and helmet use, except 
for cyclists. Additionally, the average age of the passenger car fleet in Latvia is much higher 
than the EU average. 

5 For all Member States, 2019 has been used as the baseline year for the monitoring of 2030 targets in this report, 
which is used at EU level. Latvia set 2020 as the baseline year. 
6  European  Commission  (2023),  Country  Profile  Latvia.  Road  Safety  Observatory.  Brussels,  European 
Commission, Directorate General for Transport. 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 17.7: Road Safety Performance Indicators, 2022 – 2025 (Source: ERSO, Country 
Profiles) 

Speeding7 
% of passenger cars travelling within speed limits a 

Motorways 
Rural Roads 
Urban Roads 

Seat belt & CRS use rates (%) a*,b 

Front 
Rear 
Child restraint systems (roadside observations) 
Child restraint systems (in-vehicle inspections) 

Helmet use rates (%) a 

PTW driver 
PTW passenger 
Cyclist 

DUI of Alcoholc 
(self-reported) 

Latvia 

EU 

2022 

2025 

2022 

2025 

- 
29.0 
41.4 

93.6 
90.4 
61.9 
/ 

100.0 
99.5 
17.9 

- 
- 
53.0 

95.5 
90.0 
- 
/ 

99.9 
99.6 
22.2 

- 
- 
- 

93.1 
75.3 
67.0 
- 

97.0 
94.4 
37.8 

- 
- 
- 

92.4 
69.9 
83.3 
- 

97.6 
97.0 
34.5 

% of car drivers who have driven at least once in the 
last 30 days over the legal limit 

5.2 

- 

11.8 

11.8 

Driver Distraction a 

% of drivers not using hand-held mobile 
device/phone while driving 

Vehicle Safety 

90.5 

95.8 

94.8 

94.5 

% of new passenger cars rated with 4 EuroNCAP 
stars and above a 
Average age of passenger car fleet (years)d 

89.3 

15.2 

89.0 

14.4 

83.6 

12.3 

82.7 

12.5 

Sources: a Baseline and Trendline projects, b ETSC (2022), c ESRA3 project (2024), d ACEA (2024, 2025), Notes: 
*2025 data only for weekdays 

4. Monitoring Road Safety Strategy Implementation 

4.1.  Implementation Progress 

Road Safety Management 

In 2021, Latvia starts from a medium level in two road safety areas related to  Road Safety 
Management, which concern the national road safety authority and road safety legislation. On 
the other hand, the baseline for the remaining two road safety areas of this pillar (National road 
safety budget and national road safety observatory) is assessed as low.  

7 An EU average is not available for speeding, due to different legal speed limits among countries, which does not 
allow for a straightforward comparison.  

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 17.8: Self-reported assessment of implementation progress of measures related to road 
safety management 

B1 

Road Safety Management 

1 

2 

3 

4 

National road safety authority 

National road safety budget 

Road safety legislation 

National road safety observatory 

Baseline 
Assessment (2021) 

Progress 
(2021-2024) 

medium 

low 

medium 

low 

on track 

delayed 

on track 

delayed 

The implementation of the measures related to the national road safety budget and national 
road safety observatory has been delayed, while the remaining measures of this pillar are on 
track. So far, there is lack of funding from the state budget and there is no institution acting as 
the  national  road  safety  observatory,  although  the  Road  Safety  Directorate  has  the  task  of 
evaluating road crash statistics.  

Safe Road User Behaviour 

In relation to the pillar of Safe Road User Behaviour, Latvia starts from a medium level in 
2021 in all road safety areas, except the communication campaigns, the baseline of which is 
assessed as high. Based on the self-reported assessment, all measures related to this pillar are 
on  track,  while  the  implementation  of  the  measures  related  to  the  campaigns  have  been 
completed. 

Table 17.9: Self-reported assessment of implementation progress of measures related to road 
user behaviour 

B2 

Safe Road User Behaviour 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

Enforcement 

Education 

New drivers training 

Communication campaigns 

Measures for vulnerable road users 

Measures for professional drivers 

Safe Speeds 

Baseline 
Assessment (2021) 

Progress 
(2021-2024) 

medium 

medium 

medium 

high 

medium 

medium 

on track 

on track 

on track 

completed 

on track 

on track 

Regarding the Safe Speeds pillar, Latvia starts from a medium level in all related road safety 
areas, except campaigns on speeding, for which the baseline is assessed as high. The measures 
related to  the enforcement  and monitoring of speeding  are on track. On the other hand, the 
implementation of measures related to the update of speed limits has been delayed, while the 
implementation of the measures related to campaigns have been completed.  

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 17.10: Self-reported assessment of implementation progress of measures related to safe 
speeds 

B3 

Safe Speeds 

1 

2 

3 

4 

Update of speed limits 

Enforcing speed limits 

Campaigns on speeding 

Monitoring speeding 

Baseline 
Assessment (2021) 

medium 

medium 

high 

medium 

Progress 
(2021-2024) 

delayed 

on track 

completed 

on track 

In Latvia, separate initiatives for 30 km/h and other zones have been taken individually at the 
level of municipalities and only in specific places, not in a wider area. Also, the next phase in 
the  implementation  of  average  speed  control  has  been  initiated,  but  the  data  shows  that 
speeding remains a very widespread problem.  

Safe Roads 

Regarding the Safe Roads pillar, the baseline is assessed as medium in all road safety areas. 
The  baseline  is  assessed  as  low  only  in  two  areas:  Rural  roads  safety  interventions  and 
Motorways safety management. Based on the self-reported assessment, the implementation of 
measures related to city mobility and safety plans and rural roads safety interventions has been 
delayed. All remaining measures of this pillar are on track. As already referred above, there is 
no  specific  motorway  network  in  Latvia,  so  no  measures  related  to  motorways  safety 
management are considered in the strategic plan. 

Table 17.11: Self-reported assessment of implementation progress of measures related to safe 
roads 

B4 

Safe Roads 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

City mobility & safety plans 

Urban infrastructure for VRUs 

Rural roads safety interventions 

Motorways safety management8 

Road design standards 

Road safety audit and inspection 

Baseline 
Assessment (2021) 

Progress 
(2021-2024) 

medium 

medium 

low 

delayed 

on track 

delayed 

not applicable 

not applicable 

medium 

medium 

on track 

on track 

So far, road safety policy planning in Latvia is performed only at national level, although there 
are some initiatives by some municipalities for policy planning on mobility (not directly on 
traffic safety). In addition, road design standards are regularly reviewed, and newer and safer 
solutions are introduced. 

Safe Vehicles 

In relation to the pillar of  Safe Vehicles, Latvia starts from  a low level in all related areas, 
except the vehicle technical inspections. The implementation of the measures related to fleet 
renewal has been delayed, while the implementation of measures related to the promotion of 

8 There is no specific motorway network in Latvia. 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ADAS and automation preparation has not started yet. On the contrary, the measures related to 
vehicle technical inspections are on track.   

Table 17.12: Self-reported assessment of implementation progress of measures related to safe 
vehicles 

B5 

Safe Vehicles 

1 

2 

3 

4 

Fleet renewal 

Promotion of ADAS 

Technical vehicle inspection 

Automation preparation 

Post Crash Care 

Baseline 
Assessment (2021) 

low 

low 

medium 

low 

Progress 
(2021-2024) 

delayed 

not started 

on track 

not started 

Regarding the Post-Crash Care pillar, Latvia starts from a medium level in 2021 in the road 
safety area of the reduction of EMS reaction time. The foreseen measures of this area are on 
track. On the other hand, Latvia starts from a low level in the second area included in this pillar, 
while the implementation of the related measures has not started yet.  

Table 17.13: Self-reported assessment of implementation progress of measures related to post 
crash care 

B6 

Post Crash Care 

1 

2 

Reduce EMS reaction time 

Support people injured 

Baseline 
Assessment (2021) 

medium 

low 

Progress 
(2021-2024) 

on track 

not started 

4.2.  The  informative  report  "Mid-term  Impact  Assessment  of  the  Road 

Traffic Safety Plan 2021-2027" 

The  informative  report  "Mid-term  Impact  Assessment  of  the  Road  Traffic  Safety  Plan 
2021-2027", which has been submitted for review to the Cabinet of Ministers (07.02.2025. – 
not  adopted  yet),  was  developed  to  provide  an  overview  of  the  progress  of  the 
implementation of the Plan and its impact on road traffic safety until 2025. The evaluation 
analyses the main lines of action set out in the Plan and the results of their implementation, as 
well as the challenges and opportunities for further improvement of road traffic safety. 

The  Plan’s  direct  action  performance  indicators  indicate  that  with  the  existing  measures 
included in the Plan, the goal of reducing the number of seriously injured and killed in road 
crashes by 35% in 2027 compared to 2020 may not be achieved. Therefore, the informative 
report  includes  new  measures  to  improve  road  traffic  safety,  which  currently  are  being 
discussed, such as: 

• 

• 

the separation of opposite lanes in road infrastructure, reconstruction of intersections, 
implementation of distance marking, as well as updating road infrastructure standards 
according  to  the  latest  road  traffic  safety  requirements,  namely,  road  signs  and 
markings.  
reducing  road  connections  and  turning  points  –  eliminating  left  turns  and  allocating 
additional  funding  for  roadside  mowing,  surface  treatment  technologies,  and  other 

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
measures, as well as constructing parking lots for freight vehicles to reduce the risk to 
traffic safety. 

•  measures that create legal and financial support, provide compensation, and support the 
recovery and successful reintegration of individuals into work and home environments 
after an injury.  

•  measures to motivate road traffic participants to behave responsibly in traffic, such as 
determining  the  amount  of  insurance  premiums  based  on  the  driver's  recorded 
violations, including with technical means, training of new drivers and evaluation of 
necessity of mandatory road traffic education in state education programs, as well the 
expansion of control over road traffic participants and evaluation of the effectiveness 
of the current penalty policy. 
the systematic study of serious road traffic crashes and the assessment of the fatigue of 
drivers of public passenger buses and freight vehicles, as well as improving the safety 
of micromobility services by requiring micromobility service providers to implement 
reaction tests. 

• 

•  measures aimed at the safe and sustainable acquisition and use of transport services and 

vehicles. 

4.3.  Best Practices 

•  Legislation  on  the  safety  of  electric  scooters  has  been  developed  (included  in  the 

national Road Traffic Law) and is in force.  

•  Latvia  has  been  performing  with  success  communication  campaigns  against  drink 
driving for about 20 years. Based on the Latvian Traffic Safety Action Plan, since the 
beginning  of  this  century,  Latvia  has  been  successful  in  substantially  reducing  the 
number of fatalities (eight times) and seriously injured persons (four times) from road 
crashes caused under the influence of alcohol9. 

4.4.  Gaps 

The main gap referred is the lack of funding from the state budget for the implementation of 
the  traffic  safety  action  plan  of  Latvia.  While  there  is  some  funding  from  the  Road  Traffic 
Safety  Council  (RTSC),  the  available  amount  is  limited.  Thus,  funding  for  conducting 
communication campaigns have been secured from the RTSC, however, for more demanding 
areas,  such  as  safety  interventions  on  rural  roads,  there  is  no  available  budget.  The  lack  of 
funding is also linked to the progress made in traffic enforcement, with the traffic police being 
largely understaffed. Additionally, the reluctance to take unpopular but important road safety 
decisions at political level and the lack of support from society are also among the challenges 
to be overcome. 

Furthermore,  concerning  the  development  of  city  mobility  and  safety  plans,  a  lack  of 
initiatives is observed at regional level.  

Finally, regarding speeding enforcement, difficulties are encountered in achieving a common 
vision  among  the  various  involved  bodies  and  in  supporting  the  establishment  of  higher 
speeding penalties in the Parliament.  

9 Road Traffic Safety Plan for 2021-2027, available at: https://likumi.lv/ta/id/326640 

12 

 
 
 
 
 
5. Conclusions and Recommendations 

In the Road Traffic Safety Plan of Latvia for 2021-2027, the targets of halving the numbers 
of road fatalities and serious injuries in 2030 compared to 2020 have been set. Also, four 
additional targets related to the reduction of fatalities have been defined, as well as targets for 
eight road safety performance indicators. In total, 33 road safety measures divided in three lines 
of action are included in the strategy. 

In 2024, Latvia was among the lower performing countries in the EU in terms of fatality 
rates (ranking 23rd). Compared to the EU average, the distribution of fatalities in Latvia showed 
a  high  proportion  of  pedestrians  and  fatalities  on  roads  outside  urban  areas.  Also,  the  total 
number of injured cyclists has increased over recent years. 

Based on preliminary data, between 2019 and 2024, the number of fatalities decreased by 15%, 
indicating that Latvia has made progress but is currently not on track to meet the 2030 
target. Between 2019 and 2023, the number of serious injuries fell, also by 16%. 

Regarding  progress  in  the  implementation  of  the  road  safety  actions  foreseen  in  the  Road 
Traffic Safety Plan for the period 2021-2024, progress has been made in most road safety 
areas, while some delays mainly due to funding constraints are reported. In 2024, the majority 
of the planned measures are on track. The implementation of the measures has been delayed in 
6 areas. Latvia has proceeded to its own assessment of the implementation progress of the Plan 
up to 2025 and its impact on road safety. Within this context, a new set of measures has been 
proposed and is currently under review. 

Finally, the implementation progress of the foreseen  actions appears to be broadly well on 
track, which is also partially reflected in the evolution of the number of fatalities, although 
Latvia needs to do more to meet the 2030 target. Moreover, the road safety performance of 
Latvia is still low, compared to the other EU countries. Based on the self-reported assessment, 
funding for road safety is not adequate so far, as well as a lack of common political will to 
make  unpopular  road  safety  decisions  (on  penalties,  stricter  regulations).  Therefore,  new 
additional measures have been prepared in the report Mid-term Impact Assessment of the Road 
Traffic  Safety  Plan  2021-2027,  to  complement  the  existing  plan  to  help  move  towards 
achieving the plan's goals and better performance.  

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