King of the road

It was with great interest that I read Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono's hotly-contested decision to send Paul Hili to prison for 15 years. Mr Hili, 56, of St Julians, was found guilty by eight votes to one of attempted murder. Mr Justice Galea Debono's sentence was intended to pass a message on to Maltese society that physical violence carries an effective prison term.

All we know is that the unnamed victim was 21 at the time of the incident and that, because of Mr Hili's uncontrolled road rage, he has been disabled for life. Mr Hili drove into a one-way road and insisted that the victim, who was presumably driving the right way, should reverse two blocks to let him, Mr Hili, who had been left the road by his grandfather, pass by unobstructed! Such arrogance is unfortunately commonplace.

In my lifetime, traffic in Malta has increased and multiplied by the tens of thousands. Many of our roads are still designed for the scant vehicular traffic of yesteryear and, despite the new, or nearly new, arterial roads, traffic is still heavy. Add the sudden appearance of cranes, the carrying out of road works or general utility repairs, sleeping policemen and lurking wardens on a hot September morning and you have a recipe for disaster. It is in fact surprising how patient and forbearing the average Maltese driver actually is under such pressures.

Driving conditions are sometimes so bad it is surprising we do not have piles of dead bodies and smashed up cars.

It appears that Mr Justice Galea Debono, despite the defence lawyer's attempts to stymie justice on technicalities, has delivered the maximum sentence allowed by the law to ensure that people do think twice if not three times before letting road rage get the better of them.

One aspect of driving in Malta that, along with hand waving in lieu of indicator lights, has vanished is common courtesy. I remember my late father's driving manners very well. Although he considered anyone overtaking him to be a personal affront which, as a child, I always found very funny, he was the soul of courtesy on the road; letting old ladies and many young pretty ones cross the road while doffing his hat and allowing fellow motorists out of side streets with a smile. He never failed to wave a thank you when accorded a similar courtesy.

My father was certainly a gentleman of the old school. He would have been 98 this year. With increased traffic, specimens like my father, who had learned how to drive some fancy sports car in the 1920s, disappeared off the face of Malta and what is left is a grumpy, rude and indifferent lot of drivers.

For instance, has anyone not heard of the courtesy of dipping one's headlights not to blind oncoming drivers? Have people forgotten that a driver coming up a hill has right of way? Are people today so badly brought up that they totally ignore the basic code of politeness that makes us civilised human beings? If they did take notice of others, we would not have the type of mayhem that we have on our roads.

Just to prove a point about the inherent rudeness of the average Maltese driver, my car was, a couple of months ago, clamped by the security people at St Luke's Hospital. I was parked incorrectly; just one space off where I should have been. My fault entirely.

There was this paper attached to my windscreen requesting me to phone this mobile number to unclamp the car. What was tragicomic was that the text also included a clause that if you were rude to the security guard you would be fined Lm45 while if you were polite you would be charged Lm15. Courtesy costs a staggering Lm30!

I phoned and could not have been more polite than if I were speaking to Mr Justice Galea Debono himself. I was so polite that at one point I thought that I would be let off free! Think about what abusive situations have caused such a clause to be included in a traffic fine. It does not augur well for the average state of mind or level of education of the erring Maltese driver does it? It was easy for me to count to 10, bite my tongue and turn on the charm to save Lm30. What usually happens when a driver is incapable of such restraint? Do they biff the poor security guard? Do they curse him for seven generations? I wonder.

On the subject of our roads, I feel that I must comment about the Emissions Alert Scheme report. Since August last year no fewer than 44,600 vehicles have been reported but only 3,737 have been called in for testing. Having almost 50,000 cars that are belching noxious fumes into our already polluted air is no joke. I who walk along the Sliema Front every day for health reasons am ruining my lungs by inhaling the terrible fumes that the heavy traffic on Tower Road leaves behind unless there is a powerful Mistral to clear it.

I was informed that, to be called up, a car has to be reported via SMS on three separate occasions that actually makes the small number of 3,737 rather impressive when one thinks of it.

I would also like to point out to the ADT that one is "kindly" not "gently" reminded not to send SMSs while driving. Gently is a literal translation of gentilment and makes no sense in an English context.

Back to fumes and fuming people, I feel that the scheme should be boosted by the warden system before we all die horrible deaths by asphyxiation and emphysema.

Kings of the road are, in this republican era, to be banned for good. Nobody has been left any roads by their grandfather as far as I know and if there are any they should be requisitioned at once. We cannot afford to have people running amuck and destroying a young person's life just because they feel it is their prerogative. That is unacceptable.

I feel very sorry for Mr Hili and his family. I am sure they never expected this stiff sentence but I am even sorrier for the young man whose life has been ruined by Mr Hili's impetuousness and thoughtlessness. We sometimes do things impulsively, not realising how dangerous and how stupid they are. Consideration for others is a good way to start. Should people learn how to be considerate, the incidence of terrible accidents like this would be forever decreasing. Our roads, traffic and drivers are not a credit to Malta and something must be done before we are pounded, bowdlerised or asphyxiated out of existence.