More than half, or 54% of residents of Latvia, are unaware or only partially informed that a monetary fine can be imposed for not wearing a seat belt on an intercity bus, according to the survey data.
According to the Road Traffic Law of Latvia, a passenger can receive a warning or a fine of 15 euros for not wearing a seat belt. However, neither safety concerns nor potential fines encourage people to use seat belts — every third passenger does not use them on buses, reports tv3.lv.
A survey shows that 32% of residents are unaware of the fine that can be imposed for not wearing a seat belt on a bus. 22% are only partially informed about this, while 46% acknowledge that they know about the fine passengers can receive for not wearing a seat belt.
The least informed about the possible fine are the residents of Riga and the Riga region — only 43% of respondents are aware of it. In contrast, the residents of Kurzeme are the best informed — 51% of respondents know about it there. In Zemgale, 46% are aware of the possibility of a fine, while in Latgale, 49% of respondents are informed.
According to the Road Traffic Law of Latvia, a driver can be fined between 30 to 70 euros for transporting an unbuckled passenger.
For violating passenger responsibilities, including not wearing a seat belt, a passenger can receive a warning or a fine of 15 euros. In Spain, the fine can reach up to 200 euros, and in Italy, it can exceed 300 euros.
Data shows that 30% of residents of Latvia rarely or never use seat belts on intercity buses. Although the primary responsibility for using seat belts lies with the passenger carrier, the participation of the passengers themselves also plays an important role. It is evident that a bus is part of road traffic and can be influenced by various external factors — road conditions, weather conditions, actions of other road users, etc. However, alongside the skills and ability of the driver to operate the vehicle, wearing a seat belt remains the most effective way to protect oneself in a traffic accident.
The survey conducted in November 2025 was carried out by “FlixBus” in collaboration with the research agency “Norstat”. It involved 1002 residents of Latvia aged 18 to 74.
