Towards efficient transport

The Maltese motorist's lot is indeed a miserable one. His (the masculine here includes the feminine) troubles start when he buys his car, at a price inflated by a registration tax that is the second highest in Europe.

The final prices of cars in Malta are exceeded only by those in Denmark, whose citizens are among the highest paid in the EU. This is a straight comparison of the basic cost of the car plus the tax. If one considers also the fact that earnings in several European countries are three to four times ours, the burden on a Maltese buyer can be seen to be clearly much heavier.

Attempts to lower the cost by importing a used car are thwarted because the structure of the registration tax is such that he still has to pay an exorbitantly high amount, out of proportion to the basic cost of the used car. A similar system applicable in Poland has just been declared contrary to EU legislation and there is no doubt that this applies also to Malta.

Then there are running costs. Over the years I have repeatedly bought parts from abroad at a price significantly lower than that charged in Malta. The price of fuel in Malta is now not far below that in France and Italy, which for many years vied with each other for the unenviable distinction of having the highest prices in Europe.

Need I say much about the disgusting state of our roads? Even on those with a tarmac surface, one often finds a wheel dropping into a large pothole with a bone-jarring, and expensive, crash. I have had repeatedly to repair dents in my wheel rims and buy new tyres as a result. Suspensions also suffer greatly.

Road markings are positioned in a way that might have looked pretty on a drawing board but are thoroughly impractical on the road, forcing a car to make awkward manoeuvres. The paint used for markings is of such poor quality that it soon fades away.

Road humps have proliferated, many of them not in conformity with the law. Those laid in Ta' l-Ibrag Road towards the end of last year were unequivocally condemned as illegal by the ADT, which instructed that they be removed, yet several months later not only are they still there but their number has actually been increased.

The warden system evolved - if ever it was intended to be anything different - into one concerned much more with collecting money than with educating motorists and making traffic more orderly and safer. Very many factors combine to give the highly taxed Maltese motorist an extremely raw deal and I could go on listing them for a long time.

On top of all this, we were confronted with an article under the banner headline Transport Watchdog Determined To Kill Speed For Good (February 23). I am appalled by this remarkably shallow, unrealistic and retrograde approach towards upgrading traffic in Malta and making it safer. In order to "kill speed" completely, motor vehicles would have to remain stationary, which is patently ridiculous, since they exist to move.

Clearly excessive speed can kill, and there must be speed limits, but in the interest of efficiency these should be as high as reasonably possible, consistent with safety. Speed limits should be established by reference to what is suitable for modern vehicles and the vast majority of motorists, taking into account the characteristics of the road, its surface and other relevant factors. There will regrettably always be a few who will break the law, but it is totally unreasonable and unacceptable to slap an excessively low limit on the entire motoring population because of the irresponsibility and immaturity of the few who will probably not respect the limits anyway.

Merely reducing the overall speed limit to a very low level, say 20km/hr, could possibly eliminate all except freak fatal accidents but would be a very retrograde step that would make Malta a laughing stock.

What (among other things) is needed in order to achieve the aim of "reducing traffic accidents" is to clamp down on inappropriate speed. This includes, but is not limited to, excessive speed, because driving too slowly on certain roads can also be the cause of accidents. In fact, on many roads overseas, in addition to the normal maximum, a minimum speed is also imposed and slow-moving vehicles banned, so as to keep traffic flowing at a rate consistent with the road's capabilities.

What our authorities are failing to recognise, with their disproportionate emphasis on excessively low speed limits (e.g. the Mellieha bypass), and widespread narrowing of arterial roads (e.g. Zebbiegh) is that we need to take a positive rather than a totally negative approach. We need measures to enable the flow of traffic to be speeded up as much as possible while maintaining or improving safety. Let me make it clear that I am not suggesting that we all go screeching round bends on two wheels, but it has to be realised that lowering speeds unreasonably has a cost both in terms of frustration, which often breeds aggression among drivers, as well as in economic terms.

Apparently the economic factor is being totally ignored. Efficient transport helps commercial competitiveness, which Malta now needs to improve as never before.

Instead of invoking the spectre of "speed" and slowing us all to a snail's pace, the authorities should concentrate on many steps that can be taken to enable traffic to flow faster in safety.