Driving habits and culture are changing in Lithuania. Over the last 30 years, it has become unacceptable to drive drunk, while the number of road deaths has dropped considerably, according to Darius Kanapinskas, a road safety expert.
"I've been driving since 1992, [and] I always like to show that in 1990, we had almost 1,200 road deaths a year, and last year we had about 140. This alone shows that [driving culture] is changing," Kanapinskas said.
Today, Lithuania’s driving culture has reached a fairly good level, he added.
"There was a very common saying 10 to 15 years ago: ‘I was told by my dad or husband to learn to drive with a manual gearbox because how are you going to get me home drunk?’ It couldn't be worse. Now, you don't hear that anymore," Kanapinskas said.
However, speeding is still far too common.
"You will often hear that the speedometer has a tolerance of 10 to 20 km/h,” he said. As a result, speeding by about 10 km/h has become the norm, he added.
Average speed cameras, such as those on Geležinio Vilko Street in Vilnius, help combat speeding. The average speed on that stretch of road used to be 80 km/h, but now most drivers slow down to 60 km/h, according to Kanapinskas.
"The road has automatically become less accident-prone. Of course, there are still accidents. But traffic culture is definitely improving. I just wouldn't want it to improve by scolding – meaning by having to be intimidated by police officers all the time," he said.
There are also cases of dangerous driving, where drivers maliciously squeeze other road users by tailgating, flashing lights, and more. This is also common for motorcyclists.
"You're on a motorbike, you look in the mirror, and there's a car behind you. In the best case, it's 2 to 3 meters away. A motorcycle is a vehicle that doesn't need to brake – just letting off the accelerator will stop it automatically," Kanapinskas said.
"I always say that, especially when riding a motorcycle, the first thing you need to do is hit the brake so the lights come on at the back. Then release the accelerator so that drivers behind you know you intend to slow down," he added.
Although the concept of a safe following distance has been introduced in the Highway Code, drivers have different perceptions of what that means.
According to Kanapinskas, it is important to consider the speed at which you are traveling. At 90 km/h, a driver covers a distance of 25 meters in just one second.
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