Number of people killed in traffic accidents in Latvia in 2024 lowest since restoration of independence

RIGA - 111 persons were killed in traffic accidents in Latvia last year, which is the lowest number since the restoration of independence, according to the State Police.

In 2023, 142 people died in traffic accidents, compared to 115 people in 2022.

Last year, 306 people were seriously injured in road accidents, while 3,650 people suffered light injuries. These figures are also lower than in 2023.

Overall, 17,479 traffic accidents were recorded last year, 120 fewer than in 2023.

State Police Chief Armands Ruks told Saeima Defense, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee that, regardless of the decrease, the number of fatal road accidents was still quite high. Given the number of murders, suicides and drug overdoses last year, and taking into account Latvia's poor demographics, the authorities still have much to do, he said.

The reasons for the decrease in the number of persons killed in traffic accidents are that the police have improved their technical capacity in recent years, more average speed cameras have been set up in Latvia, the police started to use drones to monitor traffic, and drink-driving has been criminalized. Police reform has also contributed, with the number of law enforcement officers on the roads increasing threefold, said Ruks.

The State Police informed LETA on Thursday that so far this year, from January 1 to February 15, there were 103 road accidents involving pedestrians, in which 84 pedestrians were injured and eight were killed. In the same period last year, 76 pedestrians were injured and three killed.