Catch 22 signage at MIA

Any misguided motorist who intends to make use of the passenger drop-off and pick-up facility at Malta International Airport should be aware of the risk of being entrapped by conflicting traffic signs.

The internationally recognised "No Waiting" sign is nowhere to be seen but there is a warning that the car would be towed away if left unattended. If you look hard enough, you may also spot a contradictory and inconspicuous "No Stopping" sign.

This Kafkaesque 'Catch 22' situation means that unless the passenger and his luggage are literally thrown out of a still moving car, over-zealous petty officialdom can always accuse a driver of violating the traffic regulations.

This is not idle speculation but it is my actual experience at the Zurrieq tribunal. I explained that the citation was issued belatedly and as an afterthought by a rude traffic policeman whom I was reporting to the Commissioner of Police. I had no difficulty to prove that I had never "parked" my car and that I had never left it unattended for an instant.

The tribunal was unimpressed and accepted the prosecutor's point that I had not complied with the "No stopping" part of the traffic sign establishing the passenger drop-off and pick-up zone!