Riga road breakdowns, tips and CSDD preparation.
Does CSDD cancel exams for rain, what the examiner really assesses in bad weather, why autumn candidates are often stronger than summer ones — and how to prepare for the exam in wet Riga.
Read more →Student years are a practical window for a licence: your timetable is more flexible than it will ever be in a full-time job. How to fit 2–3 sessions a week between lectures, an honest budget, and an autumn timeline to the exam.
Read more →All summer, morning Riga has been half-empty — on September 1 that ends in a single day. Here is what actually changes on the road when the school year starts: where the traffic and patrols appear, how the zones near schools work, and why a child at the kerb is the least predictable road user of all.
Read more →CSDD publishes exam statistics by driving school and by instructor. Where to find them, how to read the percentages without fooling yourself, and what the numbers won't tell you.
Read more →What changes past the end-of-town sign: speed limits, 180 km/h closing speeds, overtaking as a decision, and the gravel roads no city lesson prepares you for.
Read more →Parallel parking, bay parking, interval control at an obstacle, turning around, emergency braking — how the computer picks two of five, what the examiner watches, and how to train.
Read more →A category B licence covers more than a car. Myth by myth: mass and seat limits, trailers and the 750 kg confusion, mopeds, code 96 and when you need BE.
Read more →30 questions, 30 minutes, no more than 3 errors. What the CSDD theory exam looks like and which preparation method beats cramming.
Read more →Why pedestrians become invisible in autumn, what Latvian law says about reflectors and headlights, why wet leaves are dangerous — and how to prepare for a CSDD exam in the dark.
Read more →The rules that apply to drivers with under two years' experience — alcohol, penalty points — and how to get through your first months of solo driving calmly.
Read more →Latvian traffic rules contain no clause saying "traffic on the roundabout has priority". Priority at every roundabout is set by signs — and that is exactly what catches out both beginners and experienced drivers from countries where the circle rules by default. Here is how it actually works, and which roundabout mistakes cost people the exam.
Read more →Driving lessons are only part of the road to a licence. The medical check, the first-aid course, registering with a driving school for theory, CSDD state fees — all of it is easier to arrange in the right order than to discover a gap the day before your exam. Here is the clean checklist for a B-category candidate in Latvia.
Read more →A minor bump in a parking lot doesn't always mean calling the police — often an agreed statement (commonly known as a "europrotocol") is enough, and since December 2025 you can even file it through WhatsApp. Here's when drivers' paperwork really is sufficient, when you need police, and how not to make things worse in the first five minutes.
Read more →From 2026, alongside ordinary bicycles, Riga's roads now carry a new category — the "self-powered bicycle" (pašgājējs velosipēds), which accelerates like a moped but looks like a bike. Here is what that means from behind the wheel: where to expect them, how to overtake safely, and what to check before you turn.
Read more →More and more Riga neighbourhoods are becoming 30 km/h zones — and that is exactly where students get it wrong: still driving 30 long after the zone has ended, or speeding up to 50 right after a junction while the zone is still in force. Here is the logic behind the zonal sign, and why it behaves differently from an ordinary speed-limit sign.
Read more →Why a July start means an October exam on light, dry roads — and a September start pushes it to November or December, when Riga is dark by 15:30. Simple arithmetic, no pressure.
Read more →Not the "official route" (it isn't published), but the recurring situations where students in Riga lose points — junctions, roundabouts, trams, pedestrians, the season.
Read more →A calm plan: when you can retake, how to rebook, why people actually fail, and how to fix your specific mistake — no panic.
Read more →A free first lesson can be a useful introduction — or an empty formality of "here's the wheel, here are the pedals." How to tell, and what it should give you.
Read more →A school's instructor list isn't a sentence. Under Latvian rules you may choose and change your instructor. How it works and why switching gets pushback.
Read more →Before the CSDD exam, the driving school runs its own internal driving exam — a paid one. Why not everyone passes first time and how it drives up the cost.
Read more →Cheap theory is the bait; the money is in driving hours. Here's what a driving licence in Riga really costs — and where the add-ons hide.
Read more →Learning on an automatic is easier, but your licence comes with a restriction — code 78. How manual and automatic differ at the CSDD exam, and how to choose.
Read more →Afraid to drive — after an accident, a long break, or from day one? Where driving anxiety comes from and which approach actually works.
Read more →You have a licence but haven't driven for years? What you actually forget, what comes back fast, and how to return without stress.
Read more →Most people pick the school and take whatever instructor they're given. Here's why the reverse makes more sense — and how the money works in training.
Read more →The full route from your first lesson to a driving licence: first steps, theory, practice, the exam and support all the way to the result.
Read more →Which language you may take the CSDD test in and which Latvian commands you must understand at the wheel: turns, lanes, roundabouts, parking and a glossary for foreigners.
Read more →What the CSDD test consists of, why people most often fail, and how to prepare calmly in 2–4 weeks.
Read more →What happens in lesson one, how to deal with nerves, and when you'll know how many lessons you actually need.
Read more →Not luck, but specific things: real preparation, managing stress, knowing the routes, and honest feedback.
Read more →Where overpaying really comes from, what you can actually cut without losing quality, and what's not worth skimping on.
Read more →Whether you can drive with a Ukrainian licence in Latvia, when exchange is needed, and what the April 2026 bilateral agreement changes in practice.
Read more →An honest look at how many driving lessons you need: the CSDD minimum, what actually shapes the real number, and why nobody can give you an exact figure in advance.
Read more →Switching instructors isn't always a whim. The common reasons — and how to choose right the first time.
Read more →The one-year rule, the exchange process, the medical check, the exam — and why experienced non-EU drivers still fail the CSDD test.
Read more →The concrete signs of a good instructor — and the warning signs you can already spot at your first lesson.
Read more →Since June 2025, the CSDD Category B test includes a navigation-driving task: at least five minutes following a sat-nav to an examiner-set destination, with no prompts from the instructor or examiner. Here is what the task looks like and how to prepare.
Read more →What to look for when choosing an instructor, which questions to ask before your first lesson, and why this decision matters more than choosing a driving school.
Read more →The mistakes almost every new driver makes behind the wheel — and how to fix them calmly, without turning them into stress.
Read more →How to handle snow, ice and black ice in Riga, when to fit winter tyres, and what to do if you have a licence but your confidence has faded.
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