People have nothing to lose! CSDD Head on Drunk Drivers on Latvia's Roads

People have nothing to lose! CSDD Head on Drunk Drivers on Latvia's Roads 0

Photo: LETA

This year, fewer people have died in traffic accidents than in the same period last year; however, there have been "many accidents that have caused a wide public outcry" on Latvia's roads, said CSDD Chairman Aivars Aksenok in an interview on the program "900 Seconds" on TV3.

Aksenok explained TV3, that currently the number of fatalities is about a third lower than for the same period last year. Current statistics show that in the first months of 2026, 19 people died in accidents.

However, according to the head of CSDD, this year has been marked by several accidents that have caused a wide public outcry.

"At least five serious traffic accidents can be named, in which several people were injured and many vehicles were involved. It has been such a strange year," Aksenok added.

He noted that although technical control measures have been implemented on Latvia's roads in recent years and significant progress has been made, it is extremely important to ensure police presence on the roads.

"Not only to document violations with photos or videos but also to physically stop and check drivers. It must be said that many drivers caught driving under the influence are already deprived of their driving licenses. Accordingly, they do not worry about it. Several sanctions have been introduced, but there is a category of people for whom this does not have an effect, so police presence is necessary," Aksenok said.

Commenting on the statistics of an average of about ten drunk drivers detained per day, the head of CSDD noted:

"People have nothing to lose! Of course, a lot can be said about stress in society, but that is not an excuse."

In response to the question of whether reducing the permissible alcohol level to zero promille could solve the problem, Aksenok said: "I think it will change little, rather it will provoke many new bureaucratic and controversial procedures, because zero is zero, and there are many factors that can influence this. It should be noted that in many cases the permissible limit has already been lowered — for novice drivers and bus drivers, it is 0.2 promille. When talking about zero, many other factors need to be considered, such as measurement accuracy and the influence of various conditions. This will create more problems than it will solve."