Speed alone does not kill

The report relating road accidents to "speed" above all else is a pitiful example of the warped, dare I say old fashioned, thinking of persons in authority at departments like the ADT (Transport Watchdog Determined To Kill Speed For Good, February 23).

Surely these people read and listen to the news from other countries. In Great Britain, probably the most correct place to be driving in Europe, studies commissioned by the government recently showed conclusively that speed cameras on fast roads, dual carriageways etc, cause more accidents than they prevent. The British government, embarrassed at the results of the study, tried to hide the report because speed cameras there, like they are here, are fantastic sources of income to the government, but, unfortunately for them, the report still leaked and now some councils are in fact removing cameras and finding that the accident rate is indeed dropping.

Speed alone has never killed anyone. If it did then the likes of Michael Schumacher should have been dead ages ago. Mr Schumacher and his peers drive fast in a safe environment. There are dozens of causes of accidents. In my opinion the biggest cause of accidents in Malta is lack of education and courtesy, and our road environment itself, so please stop blaming everything on us drivers all the time.

Of all the speed cameras in Malta, I can only think of one that is sensibly placed, and that is the one at Attard. I am not against speed cameras in inhabited areas, but putting a camera on a fast road just because there was an accident there does nothing but prove the warped way of thinking of the authorities on such matters. It's like putting up a gate after the horse has bolted.

But perhaps the biggest proof of the failure of speed cameras and the dozens of other gimmicks thought up by the authorities to trip up the Maltese motorist is the figures of the authorities themselves. There were more deaths on our roads last year than there were in any of the previous 10 years, despite the gimmicks. How do you explain that?

If the ADT really wants to reduce accidents, the first thing it needs to do is revise its method of road design and surfacing. Has anybody ever mentioned the somewhat important fact that the grip factor of 90 per cent of Malta's roads is below that recommended anywhere in the world. And that's in dry conditions. God help us when it rains.

We have a knack here in Malta of trying to absolve ourselves of our blunders by blaming others. The driving situation and everything relating to it is a perfect case in point.