Skip to main content

Estonia's traffic volume tumbles by 33%

Road traffic volumes in Estonia have fallen by a third as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Maanteeamet, the state road administration.
By David Arminas April 15, 2020 Read time: 1 min
Road traffic in Estonia is down by a third (© Natalia Rumyantseva | Dreamstime.com)

However, the volume of trucks has changed very little, noted a report by ERR News, the English-language online service of Estonian Public Broadcasting. 

There was a drop of only around 2% based on data collected between March 6, after the first coronavirus cases had been detected but before the government declared an emergency situation, and March 27.

The decline mainly results from a decline in passenger vehicle traffic. Truck transport is required for delivering essential goods and services and so drivers are exempt from staying away from work.

The administration has 98 fixed counting points nationwide.

In the neighbouring Baltic state of Latvia, traffic on major highways fell by 19% in the weeks after the government declared a state of emergency.
 

Related Content

  • Covid turns tolls cashless
    December 23, 2021
    When coronavirus hit, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission made its long-planned e-tolling system permanent; this made sense, but it was still a difficult decision, explains the organisation’s Carl DeFebo
  • Europe's electronic toll service closer to operational reality
    November 7, 2012
    After much debate and delay, a unifying European Electronic Toll Service is now finally on the horizon, says ASFiNAG’s Klaus Schierhackl. Here, he talks with Jason Barnes about what that might mean. Aworkable European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) which will allow truck drivers to travel across the continent and pay tolls using a single account and OnBoard Unit (OBU) was originally timetabled to be in place and operating by October of this year. A lack of urgency from some of the stakeholders involved in t
  • ARTBA president: what happened to the hoverboards?
    October 28, 2019
    What keeps Dave Bauer up at night? David Arminas caught up with the head of ARTBA at his Washington, DC office during daylight hours Dave Bauer doesn’t really have many sleepless nights. He might sleep, though, with one eye open, just in case. “We have become a much more divided country politically,” says Bauer, president of ARTBA – American Road and Transportation Builders Association. “Whether you are thinking about federal government, or state or local government, there’s a hostility now in our politi
  • Australia's ground breaking average speed enforcement
    February 1, 2012
    The speed enforcement system on the Hume Highway in Australia combines both spot and point-to-point solutions. Here, Redflex's Peter Whyte discusses its implementation. The Australian State of Victoria has achieved notable success in reducing casualty rates since launching a three-pronged road accident prevention initiative in the late-1980s.