Traffic accidents up 40% in Rapla County year-over-year
The number of traffic accidents has increased in almost every region, with Rapla County standing out in particular. There have been 40 percent more accidents there than last year.
Something appears to be going on in Rapla County as traffic accident statistics make the county a clear record holder. There were 324 traffic accidents there in the first half of this year, compared with 228 during the same period last year, an increase of more than 40 percent.
"Rapla County really stands out because, if we look at the accidents that have occurred there, drivers in Rapla County are twice as likely to hit objects — roadside posts, guardrails and possibly fences," said Tuuli Pärenson, chair of the board of the Estonian Motor Insurance Bureau.
The bureau cannot say what specifically may be behind the high number of accidents, but extensive roadwork related to the construction of Rail Baltica is currently underway in the county.
"Any major road construction project, detour or change in traffic management — if something is changed or a traffic light is installed where there wasn't one before — always temporarily increases the number of accidents because drivers misjudge the situation," Pärenson said.
At the same time, the number of people injured in traffic accidents has fallen. Last year, 36 people were injured in crashes in Rapla County, compared with 23 this year.
In a written response, police said that while extensive construction work has made traffic conditions more difficult in parts of Rapla County and requires drivers to pay greater attention, speeds are lower in those areas, meaning accidents also tend to have less serious consequences.
Setting aside the Rapla County anomaly, 40 percent of accidents occur in parking lots, 17 percent are rear-end collisions and 13 percent are collisions between vehicles at intersections.
Driving instructor Aldis Alus said the most common cause of traffic accidents is failure to follow a basic rule.
"As we know, the right-hand rule applies in parking lots when there is no yield sign. Many drivers look at it and think, 'I'm on what looks like the through road, so I can just keep going.' But in fact, they don't have the right of way," Alus said.
According to the driving instructor, many people drive from memory rather than paying attention to traffic signs, even when traffic arrangements were changed as much as a year ago.
As an instructor, he would give Estonia's driving culture a grade of 3+ or 4-. Some things on the roads have improved, but there is still a widespread lack of consideration for other road users.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski, Marko Tooming
