Despite efforts to reduce road deaths, the carnage continues, writes Carl O'Brien in Riga
It is 1am and the main road from the Latvian capital, Riga, to the port town of Liepaja in the north-west of the country is beginning to disappear under a layer of snow and ice.
As the verges fade into the blackness, drivers figure that occupying the middle of the road is the safest option.
The only problem is that traffic heading in the opposite direction has the same idea, causing cars to sometimes skid and slide as they swerve to avoid each other.
It is not surprising to learn - after surviving a hair-raising 200km journey - that Latvia has the highest rate of road deaths in the EU's 25 member states.
To put the figures into context, Latvia, a country of 2.3 million people, recorded 549 road deaths during 2004, or 200 road deaths per million inhabitants, compared to the EU average of 95 deaths per million inhabitants.
By contrast, Ireland, which has been struggling to contain carnage on the road, recorded 379 road deaths over the same period, or 98 deaths per million inhabitants.
A report by the European Commission on road safety found that while most member states had reported progress in tackling the issue, eight mainly central and eastern European states had experienced little or even negative progress.
The standard of driving in such countries has come sharply into focus following a spate of accidents at home involving nationals from EU accession countries.
The most recent and dramatic example was a two-car collision near Buncrana just over a week ago which claimed the lives of four Latvians and a Lithuanian.
Isolating any single cause for the high level of road deaths in eastern Europe is difficult, according to road safety experts here.
Drink-driving is also a major problem, responsible for an estimated 22 per cent of fatalities on the road (there are no reliable corresponding figures for Ireland).
Since Latvia regained independence in 1991, the nature of traffic has changed dramatically. The number of vehicles has risen substantially and driving behaviour has become more aggressive.
Another factor is the road network. While main roads are generally of good quality, many rural roads are treacherous and have not been improved since the Soviet era.
It is not all bad news in Latvia, though.
On the positive side, there
has been a reduction in the number of drink-driving accidents and an increase in seat-belt use.
The progress appears to be on the back of severe penalties introduced by the government for road traffic violations, especially for drink-driving, the severity of which could teach the Irish Government a thing or two.
The measures include jail sentences for being caught over the limit (the blood alcohol limit is 0.2mg/ml - four times more stringent than in Ireland), resitting driving tests and severe fines.
Still, however, the carnage continues.
It was noticeable that, when the bodies of the four Latvians killed in Ireland were returned to their home towns in recent days, the local media did not seem very interested.
"One reason is the media convention of not reporting on personal issues like funerals," said one Latvian media worker, who declined to be named. "But there is also a feeling that these are just more road deaths. It is not that unusual."
The EU's commissioner for transport is due to discuss the findings of a mid-term review of road safety next month with EU ministers and is likely to call for further measures on safety campaigns, improvements in road conditions and tougher penalties for road traffic violations.
On the sometimes treacherous and icy roads in rural Latvia, the changes cannot come quickly enough.
