Although the road traffic safety last year has made a considerable progress by recording a historical low in terms of the number of deceased in car crashes since the restoration of independence, severe crashes still occur in road junctions. Data compiled by BTA Baltic Insurance Company (BTA) indicate that approximately in each eighth collision occurring last year in junctions the involved cars were damaged so heavily that their repair required investing more than a thousand euros. We noticed that the majority of severe crashes have occurred in cities, where generally the maximum driving speed limit is 50 km/h.

The statistics regarding the paid compensations to CASCO and MTPL policy owners indicates that problems in the traditional “black spot” junctions have not gone away. In Riga, the majority of crashes has taken place in intersections of Kleistu street, Dzelzavas and Ilūkstes streets, Biķernieku and Lielvārdes streets, Lāčplēša and Satekles streets, Kurzeme avenue and Slokas street, Ulmaņa avenue and Lielirbes street, as well as Augusta Deglava and Ilūkstes streets.

Many of these intersections are notoriously long known as “problematic”. The daily traffic flow in these streets is high, and some of the intersections are wider than usually, therefore drivers often miscalculate and fail to manage to cross the intersection before the cars start coming from the perpendicular street. There have been many crashes while turning left, when the driver believes no one will go straight anymore and they start the turn manoeuvre, but there is yet another driver trying to cross the intersection under the yellow light.

Only an MTPL or CASCO policy spared a few thousands of car drivers from considerable expenses after getting in an accident last year. According to BTA’s statistical data, nearly in 2% of all cases, the vehicles were so heavily damaged that their repair cost more than 10 thousand euros or car owners received compensation for a car beyond repair. In 11% of cases, the repair costs ranged between 3-10 thousand euros, while in 25% of cases – from one to three thousand euros.

“Statistical data does not lie – the “black spots” are still a serious problem, in our capital city as well as the rest of the country. Therefore we completely share the opinion of the State Audit Office and join their appeal to all the responsible institutions for their more active engagement in eliminating these “black spots” – by reconsidering the traffic sign placement, adjustment of traffic lights and handling traffic flow. The left turn problem needs particular attention to arrive at an efficient solution. Naturally, not a bad idea that car drivers should be more cautious and refrain from opportunistic and risky manoeuvres,” urges Kārlis Liepiņš, Director of BTA Insurance Claims Handling Department. 

About BTA

BTA Baltic Insurance Company is one of the leading insurance companies in the Baltics, offering the broadest range of non-life insurance services in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. BTA employs more than 1 000 employees in the Baltics. The largest shareholder of BTA is Vienna Insurance Group AG with 200 years of experience in the insurance industry. More than 50 companies in 25 countries constitute the group, which employs 25,000 employees. Vienna Insurance Group AG is a clear leader in its core markets in Europe maintaining high rating of financial stability – Standard & Poor’s A+ (stable outlook), with a listing on the Vienna and the Prague Stock Exchange.

Additional information:
Elīna Rasmane
Marketing and Public Relations Department Director
BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS
e-mail: elina.rasmane@bta.lv