Updated: Video: Woman seriously injured in head-on crash

Joseph Borg

Sep 6th 2008, 21:31

Now we can install speed cameras and resurface the road :-)

Charles Micallef

Sep 6th 2008, 17:08

@Matthew Brincat,
Have you driven through T'Alla u Ommu lately ? This road is like no other in Malta! and I do not mean just the dangerous incline, but the surface is constanty defaced by overloaded lorris dropping concrete and aggregate all over!
I, in no way condone the abuse on our roads by some drivers, our worry should be that they think that the way they drive is the norm, and all because they do not know or have not been taught to drive properly in the first instance!

Brian Fenech

Sep 6th 2008, 13:28

i sometimes wonder (not much to wonder!!) how cars like this mazda pass their VRT tests!! they make a big fuss over some excessive smoke from our cars, but ignore cars which are simply, tickin time bombs when it comes to safety!

M. Costa

Sep 6th 2008, 04:47

@ P. Demicoli - Lm2000 will get you a car manufactured after 1995 which is much safer than the Mazda 323 shown in this article's photo. Who mentioned airbags? You don't need an airbag to have a safer car than the death trap displayed in this here article.

Matthew Scerri

Sep 6th 2008, 00:58

First of all, i wish a speedy recovery to all victims of this accident. I think there are more issues than speed when it comes to road safety but its (apparently) the only thing some can think about. as others metioned the fact that the Aygo has a 4 star Euro N-Cap rating has a lot to do with one getting away lighter than the other. there are quite a number of drivers on the roads though that are happy enough to drive at 15mph out in the middle of the road and judging by a few comments here they should be all given a prize for being responsabile. In reality they're nothing but a moving obstacle creating as much of a hazard as someone over speeding. speed limits are actually slow enough the way they are. the real issue in my opinion is enforcement which is non existant. it's all about responsability, if you drive slowly everywhere you go you're not driving any more responsibly than someone who over speeds. and if you still think speeding is the only real problem just google up some autobahn safety statistics comparing the limited with unlimited sections of it.

Matthew Brincat

Sep 6th 2008, 00:14

@Charles Micallef , with all the respect , but everybody keeps on saying that , this road and that road is a number one road for acciendents, but in reality the problem is it that people do over speed, if people dont over spead many accidents will reduce and if an accident happen it wouldn't be that bad either

James A. Tyrrell

Sep 6th 2008, 00:08

@ J Farrugia. Not always the case that old clunkers as you call them are unsafe and I can speak from experience. A few years ago I was travelling at 70 MPH in the overtaking lane of a dual carrageway when a car in the inside lane turned across the road in front of me. The lady driver who I believe was also using a mobile at the time wanted to use an opening in the central reservation to go back down the other carrageway.

I managed to get my speed down to 50 something before I hit her car. I was driving a 7 year old Ford Fiesta Ghia. The lady was driving a 4 year old Ford Mondeo. I took the back end out of her car and it was written off. My car was passed as safe by the traffic police and I drove it to the local hospital where I and my three passengers were checked out and all found to be okay apart from a bit of whiplash.

Jeremy J Camilleri

Sep 5th 2008, 21:01

so was jfarrugia there?

He knows what happened!!!!!

I suggest that the enquiring magistrate contacts jfarrugia so that he will have expert advice regarding this incident.

This man does know EVERYTHING!!!!!

David Borg

Sep 5th 2008, 20:09

@ John Portelli. Dear Mr Portelli, perhaps this is one of the best roads we have on our island. If you have ever walked this road while its quiet from cars, it's a paradise. Why don't you say that the thousands of drivers that pass from this road everyday are Schumakers. I live in this very same road where the accident took place so I have some experience in this road. The only thing that this road doesn't have are some safe thoughts on those living in it trying to get out of their garage.

victor vella

Sep 5th 2008, 19:26

Somtimes I wonder if we are living on the same planet. Someone mentioned a slippery road, tell it to the marines mate, slippery maybe a dog passed by before the cars, afterthis week's rain the roads are safer as most of the grime which settled on them in summer is gone, Danger spot , well each and every road is a danger spot if you exceed the speed limit, Pig farm mentioned as well I was under the impression that it was a dairy farm being built, now can every one who has a 10 year old car afford to replace it with a new modern safe car?Be realistic, if we kill speed, be less selfish and drive with discipline then we would have less accidents, and less for some people to moan about.Let's just hope that she comes out of this accident non the less for the experience.

S Grech

Sep 5th 2008, 19:01

I have never gone through this road, but if such a road like this is a black spot then the only solution is to make it a one way road.

John Portelli

Sep 5th 2008, 18:37

This is an accident Black Spot due to bad road design, slippery surface and faded road markings a road only completed a few years ago and took several years to complete.

A bit of over speeding will send any car into a spin on this bend and to make matters worse, this is the very same spot that MEPA has recently granted a permit for a pig farm (PA03694/03) with an exit right on this bend.
Can you imagine trucks loaded with pigs or animal feed, etc exiting or entering from this very same spot. We might as well leave the ambulance on site.
ADT take note.

P.Demicoli

Sep 5th 2008, 18:16

@M.Costa
What's Lm2000 gonna get you? A ten year old piece of crap with an airbag you hope will work?

M. Costa

Sep 5th 2008, 17:51

The least injured person was probably driving the Toyota Aygo. An old car like the Mazda 323 shown in the picture will offer much less protection to it's occupants. It's a shame that there are still a significant number of cars in Malta which are more than ten years old. Great advances have been made in automobile safety since the 1990s, and a car manufactured in the 21st century is much more likely to protect its occupants from serious injury. This said, one must keep in mind that a nasty crash can still result in very serious injury or death - no matter how safe the car involved is. However I am of the opinion that old cars such as the one shown in the photo should be scrapped and replaced with newer ones - a second hand car from the year 1999 can easily be bought for less than Lm2000. The Mazda shown in the photo is a death trap.

J Oatmon

Sep 5th 2008, 17:49

@ J Farrugia

A terrible accident and I feel for the victims, but to me speed was not the problem.

The pictures tell the story - the seriously injured person was in the old Mazda 232 which has a much lower standard of passenger safety, and has no airbags, to get this lady out of the wreck cutting equipment had to be used.
The person driving the newer Toyota with airbags and a 'safety cell' construction did not require cutting equipment to exit her car.

So the true fact is 'old clunkers' are unsafe for their passengers in the event of an accident - to reduce accident injuries, Malta needs to move from 'old clunkers' to more modern cars.

The government needs to move to the safety of newer cars, reduce the cost of small new cars, and weed out the unsafe 'old clunkers'- this will save lives. A sign post saying 50kph will not change anything.

R.Gatt

Sep 5th 2008, 17:37

I would like to point out that the spot where this accident took place, is not at the bottom of T'Alla W' Ommu Hill, but rather some 500 to 700 metres further down when heading towards Bugibba & Salina from the above mentioned place.


Indeed this section of road is an accident black spot, but as always, the problem of such black spots is due to the general stupidity of the typical Maltese driver - the same driver who incomprehensibly cannot get to terms with the idea of driving within one lane and that the lane divisor is there for a purpose.


These same individuals are the ones who generally overtake in the most absurd manner and with the most adrenalin-pumping/awkward timing, usually barely managing to avoid a crash in the process. I can bet anything that you have encountered/experienced (or quite possibly even be one of them) at one point or another.


That being said, I am not implying that this particular crash was due to such circumstances. I know from experience that even the tiniest of puddles can lead to catastrophic consequences.

Paul Barrett

Sep 5th 2008, 17:27

Road Open or at least not been stopped by the Police at the Coast Road / Naxxar Road turning.

Charles Micallef

Sep 5th 2008, 16:50

T'Alla u Ommu, is the no 1 accident black spot in Malta, and it's only by shear luck that there where not more serious accidents reported!

The road surface is full of concrete patches and gravel, making it into a proper skidpan! Lorries going uphill, drive on the right hand side lane, in the fear that they will not be allowed to pass at the top of the actual hill when there is more than enough space to allow both carriageways to flow to the roundabout,

This is a perfect spot where traffic policemen can see for themselves a number of traffic infringements, but then again who blames them for not standing in harms way!

J Farrugia

Sep 5th 2008, 16:41

kill speed or it will kill you. And that's the result.

Paul Barrett

Sep 5th 2008, 16:34

Road still closed as at 16.34pm.