Half admit drink-driving

Almost half of 80 MCAST students interviewed in a survey by fellow students have admitted to driving under the influence of alcohol and more than half said they drive after having consumed more than four alcoholic beverages.

Despite this, 89 per cent of respondents claimed to be fully aware of the danger of driving after drinking. The survey was carried out by students at the MCAST Institute of Business and Commerce.

More than 50 per cent of the 80 students who participated in the survey admitted to regularly exceeding the speed limit (60 kilometres per hour in rural areas).

Five per cent of the students said they never drove safely. Thirty per cent of the respondents were involved in an accident in the past 12 months, more than half of them claiming it was not their fault.

The majority of students - 65 per cent - said they were only involved in a traffic accident once in the past 12 months but four per cent said they had been involved in up to four in the same period.

A considerable number of the respondents - 39 per cent - expressed their belief that Maltese youths were at a high risk of being involved in a traffic accident while driving and 34 per cent said there was a risk of being involved in an accident while they were passengers.

Asked what measures should be implemented to prevent road accidents, 63 per cent said the driving test should be revised and made more difficult, 43 per cent felt it would be a good idea to raise the driving age and 58 per cent said there should be stricter measures for breathalyser testing.

Meanwhile, 48 per cent of the students agreed that speed cameras should be used more frequently, with higher fines for over-speeding.

Some 38 per cent of the students believed that the permissible alcohol limit should be reduced.

The survey was part of a project by MCAST students to mark World Health Day, due to be held on Wednesday, with the theme Road Safety Is No Accident.

Students of the Institute of Information and Communications Technology designed a website on road safety, students from the Institute of Art and Design designed a poster, which will also be used on billboards, and students of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering yesterday carried out free car inspections for both students and the public.

Health promotion officer Caroline Attard stressed the need for more effort to prevent traffic accidents. She said statistics showed that youths, especially boys, are more at risk of traffic accidents.

Education Minister Louis Galea said that apart from the risk factors usually associated with young drivers - inexperience, underestimation of risks, high-risk acceptance and alcohol consumption - the lifestyle of young people also has an effect. This, he said, included trying out new things, wanting to be in the company of friends, trying to impress, getting the better of each other and conforming to group standards.

He said it pained him to see many lives wasted or ruined because of carelessness, irresponsibility or sheer bad luck.

Parliamentary Secretary Helen D'Amato said one had to think of the long-term implications of traffic accidents, with people missing days of work or school as part of their convalescence.

Statistics compiled by the Health Information Department show that there were 50 fatal traffic accidents between 2001 - 2003, when 36 per cent of the victims were between 15 - 24 years old.

In the same period, there were 3,730 injuries due to traffic accidents, Malta Transport Authority statistics show.