PL calls for inquiry into road works at 'dangerous' Zejtun road

Ronnie Gauci

Sep 5th 2009, 01:57

@ Rita Spiteri

I'm not saying there aren't slow drivers in Malta, of course there are and agree they need also to be punished, but through experience I can tell that there are as much who tend to drive at twice the speed limit and are also arrogant in their way of driving by honking their horn to get you out of their way when you are already driving above the limit yourself, can you imagine?

@ Graham Crocker

It's been quite a while since I was in Scotland but remember residential areas especially those with a playing field closeby having sleeping policemen everywhere, I was in the East Kilbride and Hamilton area. Obviously I have also been to other areas which didn't have any. When I talked to people they looked quite happy about them. Useless to say that my friend Rita does not live in Anton Buttigieg Street and so she does not know what is like to have children playing outside your door with cars passing at 160km/hr just centimetres away, maybe the most important thing for some people is to get to their favourite Marsascala restaurant 2/3 earlier to have time for an aperitif.

Alfred Cassar

Sep 4th 2009, 23:33

The problem is not the roads, it's the drivers. By painting a white continuous line in the middle of the road, would have prevented the accident from happening? Making a physical centre strip is not feasible apparentely.
By placing sleeping policemen along the road we wont solve the problem either. A speed camera might help a bit but again drivers tend to slow down only when they are nearing the camera and then speed up again.

The only solutioin - let's all drive more carefully and accidents will surely diminish and be less tragic.

Graham Crocker

Sep 4th 2009, 21:34

Ronnie Gauci, I've been to Scotland this year and I've been around 3 residential areas: 2 near Edinburgh city center and in Queensferry and guess what? you're wrong or maybe they removed them this year, due to it being such a ridiculous idea and here you are repeating them.

There is no way of stopping car accidents. Putting sleeping policemen would mean that 4x4 car sales in Malta will shoot up.

Rita Spiteri

Sep 4th 2009, 19:22

So they have it in England and Scotland so it must be ok ? Anyway ALL Malta is a residential area one way or an other but we can't have humps all over the place .Maybe it 's not speed that kills people but a slow driver in front of them.

Ronnie Gauci

Sep 4th 2009, 18:45

@ Rita Spiteri

Go tell it to the victims' familes if these are silly things. I've seen roads in England and Scotland with sleeping policemen every 10 metres especially in residential areas (like in this case), they don't need to be mountain-high but just to make somebody slow down and not stop every 20 metres.

Rita Spiteri

Sep 4th 2009, 18:07

@Ronnie Gauci
Are you for real ? putting a sleeping policemen every 20 metres along this road all the way to Marsascala? Do you have nothing to do except bump along a road laden with sleeping police humps and full of potholes ? Well some people have work to do and haven't got time for these silly things on the roads.

michael fenech

Sep 4th 2009, 17:33

What we need is more policing on the our roads, not just at FESTAS and FOOTBALL.

Ronnie Gauci

Sep 4th 2009, 16:34

@ R.Axisa

You know better than me that speedcams will not solve anything unless you put ten of them in each road. As it happens elsewhere drivers decrease their speed when they spot the sign than they rev up once more after surpassing it. I always suggested that these cameras should be placed round the island at random with no advice at all, that is no signs that there is a speed camera up the road so to instill the fear in the driver's mind that a speedcam can be everywhere and so make them drive more carefully. The same as it happened with illegal parking, many learned the lesson, including myself, as you can never tell when a warden will be passing by and hand you a ticket. Obviously if there were signs saying "The warden will pass from here at 6:07pm" things would never have improved, so the same thing must be done as it comes to speedcams.

As we both agreed sleeping policemen will solve this problem as the most speedy drivers usually are the slowest when it comes to drive on one of these not to damage the bottom of their beloved cars.

R Axisa

Sep 4th 2009, 15:45

@ Robert Sammut
Implementing physical central strips is not feasible, as the road is not wide enough, and it would become a big problem for the residents to manage their cars in and out of their garages. Your suggestion can only be taken into consideration after that a service road is built, like the Ghaxaq bypass. When the original plans were made years ago, some residents say that it was planned to be a continuity of the Ghaxaq bypass, but for some unknown reason, plans were changed and the road was built as it is today. The solution is a combination of various rules - no horses, speed camera and a non-overtaking zone. If no speed camera is installed, then the presence of a traffic policemen or a warden is a comp.lete necessity. Hope the ADT and the local council take note of all the residents' pleas, for everybody's sake!

Joseph Stafrace

Sep 4th 2009, 15:37

What is needed is a beefed upTraffic Police Section working 24/7, with Malta divided into sections were small units of not less then two officers patrol their respective area. I am not inventing the wheel here; this is how the mobile squad operates. Only the physical presence of the Police will reduce fatal accidents.
As for slow moving vehicles driving in the middle of the road or on the outside lane, these should be booked as they are contributing to road rage and dangerous driving.

c. camilleri

Sep 4th 2009, 15:36

But why blame the roads and the Govt when it is clear to all that the accidents that happened on this road as in others are always due to carelessness and over speeding by the drivers concerned. Even out of this clear and simple thing the PL wants to make political capital.

R Axisa

Sep 4th 2009, 15:27

@Ronnie Gauci
According to the Zejtun local council, proposals were made by the said council to the ADT to install speed cameras and sleeping policement, but, I repeat, according to the local council, (at least that's what residents have been informed verbally years ago by the local council), the ADT has refused both proposals. So, I wonder what are the strategic proposals of the ADT. The thing is that, Triq President Anton Buttiegieg, being a bypass, does not fall under the jurisdiction of the local council, but under the central government.

m. mallia

Sep 4th 2009, 14:55

im a resedent in these street, hope adt, local council, will do something, because,we came back to normal, overtaking, lot of trafic,speeding ect, pls do something before another accident happen.IMMIGITLY,

Robert Sammut

Sep 4th 2009, 14:30

Thank you PL for exposing the inefficiency of ADT.
What should be done is something so that drivers cannot overtake. I take it that that is what the PL is taking the ADT to task for. Is it so difficult to place something physical - such as small central strips - along the road so that drivers cannot overtake? I presume that these are the plans, but like many other things the plans have remained at the ADT office and nothing was done.

R Axisa

Sep 4th 2009, 14:16

It's true that it's the responsibility of the driver to make a road safe or not, but certain rules need to be implemented in this road, as no rules exist in this particular road. For example,I agree 100 percent with Wayne Flask, that the presence of horses in this road should be forbidden. In April 2008, I emailed the local council, proposing that this road is declared as a non-overtaking zone, as the great majority of the accidents are caused due to overtaking, but believe me, I wonder whether the local council went through my email, as I didn't even receive an acknowledgement. The readers should also note that when accidents occur in this road, it is not only the vehicles that are involved, but most of the times, residents' front porches and parked cars are even destroyed, giving the residents a lot of trouble to go through, without even having the least fault. Such rules should be implemented with immediate effect for the sake of the drivers, pedestrians and residents as well.

Ronnie Gauci

Sep 4th 2009, 14:09

Did the state of the road put the victims' overspeeding car on the wrong side of the road? This road is dangerous for one reason, it's one of the few roads in Malta where somebody can emulate his deeds at Hal-Far so collisons when they happen in most cases result fatal, the same when pdestrians are run-over. Mrs Dalli was right in her final statement.

The only solution for me will be that of putting a sleeping policemen every 20 metres along this road all the way to Marsascala, one will arrive there maybe 1/2 minutes later than usula but will make it safely.

Paul Micallef

Sep 4th 2009, 14:04

The root problem on our roads is not the excessive speeding or the overtaking. We have to live up to todays exigencies. Roads are made to travel fast from one place to another. I mean safely.
BUT what if one happens to fall behind one of the junk scammels going up or down to the waste recycling plant at 10 kph? And what about the stinking smell coming out of it?
OR one of the Driving school cars? The instructors do not even bother to instruct the driver to drive close to the side to let following cars pass. But the sticker at the back of the car does say ''KEEP BACK''.
OR if one happens to drive behind a cart driven by a horse at a time when the owner decides that his horse need to go for a stroll?
OR winter comes and all roads will be more close like the face of the moon and cars driving from both sides of the street will drive on the wrong side to avoid the now world famous maltese potholes.
OR with VRT approved or not having to drive behind one of the 'vintage' cars that we still have around.

J Farrugia

Sep 4th 2009, 14:00

No need for any inquiry on this matter. The accident had its begining and its tragical end, alas. and everyone knows where the fault lies, except the Labour party. The PL should better read the sign of the times and update its policies if it ever wants to lead this country to prosperity, which I very much doubt. Let's only hope that this serves all of us including myself a lesson in good manners while driving and care for others on the other side of the fence, the pedestrians. If we only learn.

Nicholas Gatt

Sep 4th 2009, 13:36

Her Hon. Mrs Dalli is correct to ask why road works had not started on this road but I also ask why Malta's roads were built in a very unprofessional way 40 years ago and why the different governments over the years have done very little or not enough to improve Malta's raods drastically. While I agree this road in question is very dangerous, we much not forget that Malta has some of the worst drivers in the world and most fatal accidents are a result of over taking or dangerous driving. Most of the time it is the drivers who are to blame and not the roads. You can arrange the roads but fatal accidents will still occur unless Malta's drivers change their ways.

Anthony Formosa

Sep 4th 2009, 13:35

While the duty of ADT is to see that roads are safe, overtaking and speeding, as Ms Dalli said, is ultimately under the total control of drivers. The fact that a road enables one to speed or overtake does not imdemnify anybody of his/her responsibilities. Taking it upon ADT as the sole entity responsible for the accidents is now going too far. It would be more effective if the Parliament appeals directly to drivers to exercise attention and show responsibility towards themselves and other persons. After all accidents have happened where such calming measures are in force.

Wayne Flask

Sep 4th 2009, 13:16

How about a motion to forbid horses from hogging that stretch of road?

claire farrugia

Sep 4th 2009, 13:16

@
why call for an inquiry????
something should be done IMMEDIATELY, the workers should be working on the street right NOW
do any more young lives have to be lost out of carelessness???
they know what the probelms are, have known it for years, these deaths are on their conscience I would say
is this EUROPE or some subsaharan country I wonder sometimes ?.
it is true drivers have to be cautious but the system and the structure of the roads have to be improved as well otherwise people will keep dying uselessly
what about stricter controls on alcohol as well?????????????????
people should lose their license IMMEDIATELY if caught driving above a certain alcohol level, without any argument, then they will be afraid and think twice maybe
these are imperative especially following the deaths of this summer

R Axisa

Sep 4th 2009, 13:13

I think that the ADT's proposals for Triq President anton Buttigieg should have been made known to the residents before. The residents should have been involved in the discussions as I can assure both the ADT and the Zejtun Local council, that the residents of this road are the most persons experienced as regards dangerous driving and accidents. I have been living in this road for more than 18 years now and this problem has been hanging on for quite a number of years now. Several PQs have been made, but these carried no burden. The last correspondence I received from the Zejtun local council was a copy of a letter from the ADT whereby it was proposed to have a bicylcle lane, as if this would solve the dangerous driving in this road! Hope that the ADT are not sticking to this solution. This letter was recieved in Arpil 2008. From then onwards, we, the residents, have not heard anything from the local council.

Joss Galea

Sep 4th 2009, 13:11

Overspeeding and overtaking are both drivers' fault and not the road's!! I wish that our roads are free from reckless and inconsiderate drivers. I don't like road works taking for ever to be completed, but I don't blame the roads for careless driving!!