Absolutely sure of their driving skills, with the first snow appearing on roads, are less than a third of drivers in Latvia, with men considerably more self-assured, meanwhile for 15% of drivers the roads covered in white or iced highways pose a considerable challenge, according to a survey conducted by Norstat, sociological and market research agency.

Absolutely sure behind the wheel during the first days of meteorological winter feel just 30% of the survey respondents, while 49% are more reserved in praising their skills, selecting the response option “rather sure”. By gender, 37% of men feel sure driving in winter, women – 22% respondents. Respectively, only 9% of the male group were not sure of their skills, while the ratio of insecure drivers among women was 20%, according to the survey conducted at the request of BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS (BTA).

More secure behind the wheel feel those, who happen to drive on highways more often, namely, inhabitants of larger cities and towns of the country and rural regions. In these groups, the percentage of those absolutely assured in their driving skills is respectively 33% and 32% of respondents. Meanwhile this ratio among the inhabitants of Riga is 28%.

“Weather conditions characteristic to winter – with snow and icy roads bring a considerable stress load and unpleasant experience to car drivers in Latvia. It is those very first days that the number of registered road traffic accidents soars along with the number of insurance claims. That is why it is so important to timely take care of both appropriate winter tyres, as well as CASCO insurance, to protect you against sizeable losses, should you happen to get into an accident,” urges BTA Insurance Claims Handling Department Director Kārlis Liepiņš.

The study also found out that not all drivers mount winter tyres on their vehicles. 17% prefer all-season tyres, which is an acceptable solution for such snowless winters as we had the previous year, although they are not safe on snow-covered and icy roads. Good winter tyres are of particular importance to those, who regularly need taking lower priority roads, which are not cleared and treated with anti-skid materials immediately after snowfall.

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 close to 200 years of experience in the insurance business. With about 50 companies in 30 countries and more than 25,000 employees, Vienna Insurance Group is a clear market leader in its Central and Eastern European markets, and takes care of more than 22 million customers. Vienna Insurance Group is the best-rated company of ATX, the leading index of Vienna Stock Exchange (since 1994) with a rating of A+ with stable outlook from Standard & Poor’s; its share is also listed on the Prague Stock Exchange. Vienna Insurance Group works in close partnership with Erste Group – the largest retail bank in CEE.

Additional information:

Elīna Rasmane

Marketing and Public Relations Department Director

BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS

e-mail elina.rasmane@bta.lv