Skip to main content

Safer roads in European nations Latvia and Czech Republic

Official data shows that both Latvia and the Czech Republic have seen an improvement in road safety during 2017. The number of road fatalities from crashes in Latvia dropped to a historic low level of just 134, a drop of 16% from the 158 recorded in 2016. The fatal road casualty rate included 50 pedestrians, a drop of 9% from 2016. In all, 4,942 people were injured in road crashes in Latvia during 2017 according to the official data from the Ministry of Transport. Meanwhile in the Czech Republic, road fata
January 10, 2018 Read time: 1 min

Official data shows that both Latvia and the Czech Republic have seen an improvement in road safety during 2017. The number of road fatalities from crashes in Latvia dropped to a historic low level of just 134, a drop of 16% from the 158 recorded in 2016. The fatal road casualty rate included 50 pedestrians, a drop of 9% from 2016. In all, 4,942 people were injured in road crashes in Latvia during 2017 according to the official data from the Ministry of Transport.

Meanwhile in the Czech Republic, road fatalities for 2017 were at the lowest level since 1961. There were 502 road deaths in the Czech Republic in 2017, a drop of 43 from 2016. However of concern is that there were 103,821 road crashes in the Czech Republic in 2017, an increase of 4,957 from 2016.

Related Content

  • Safety measures aid workzone accident reduction
    February 20, 2012
    Everyone connected with the highway industry is involved in the efforts to cut down the number of work zone accidents. Patrick Smith reports. A few months ago, as road work resumed on America's highways and bridges, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood called on drivers to use extra caution in work zones. At the same time he commended the success in reducing overall roadway fatalities in each of the last seven years.
  • Dubai’s high vehicle crash rate
    February 14, 2014
    Official police data from Dubai paints a poor picture with regard to road safety. This small country saw one person killed every two days on average during 2013, with the death toll reaching 160 for the year. Over 2,800 people were injured in road crashes in Dubai during 2013 from 2,944 separate incidents and with 5,387 vehicles being damaged. Of those injured, 197 were serious. The traffic police described excessive speed, reckless driving, poor concentration and changing lanes without first looking for ot
  • Czech watchdog Hlidac Statu criticises slow motorway construction
    January 21, 2019
    Hlidac Statu, the Czech government spending watchdog, criticised the slow pace of motorway construction, saying it lags behind other EU states in the eastern region. But Czech prime minister Andrej Babis hit back, saying that his government has overseen an unprecedented level of motorway construction and investment. Radio Praha reported that Michal Bláha, founder of the watchdog, said data from Eurostat shows that only 300km of new motorway has been built in the Czech republic since 2000. Eurostat, ba
  • Road safety event for Latin America
    October 22, 2018
    The sixth Ibero-American Road Safety Congress was held in Spain’s capital Madrid recently, aiming to boost road safety in a range of countries. In all 300 experts from 15 countries attended the event, analysing solutions to achieve more sustainable roads and streets. Attendees included Peru’s minister of the interior, the Spanish minister of Public Works, the Director of the World Bank for Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru. There is a strong need for road safety improvements across Latin America. In 2017, 2