Woman injured in Msida crash

Raymond Zammit

Jan 20th 2010, 18:49

well ... again like the showroom's accident, one cannot blame anything else except the road.

Dear responsible authorities,
Please consider the fact that people may die and please, if u don't mind, take care of the situation.
Thank u and sorry for disturbing...

Gilbert Lia

Jan 20th 2010, 11:22

Its something really strange that people seem not to realise how much our roads are not safe on dry surface,even more on wet ones.And many accidents occur when few drops wet the road.The police and ambulance authorities also need to be careful when driving on such conditions so its normal that it takes some time.Not to mention the many 'experts'onlookers who stop exactly near the accident to 'take a good look' of the accident causing more traffic and of course more delays for the ambulance and police.People nned to be careful when driving...very simple.

A.Camilleri

Jan 19th 2010, 23:48

@Mario Scicluna
i didnt say all the police force/armed forces/112 operators are slow or bad at any point.... i said it was lucky that she wasnt badly injured as a lot could have happened in 23 mins till the ambulance got there. im sure they are not waiting for my call, and i hope i never need them !!! but anyone who needs emergency services would appreciate slightly faster help when we are central to all stations/hospital/depo. my friends are police officers and soldiers, i know what they do and face daily so no im not saying their useless at all ansi!! just a bit worrying it took first arrival 23 mins!!

Alfred Cassar

Jan 19th 2010, 22:21

i dont know why some people always try to put the blame on the authorities whenever there is a road accident.
All surfaces, irrespective whether Maltese or foreign, are more dangerous when wet. So all drivers should drive slower, more carefully and attentively. If someone drives over a certain limit on an icy road he is inviting trouble and the same applies to us. When driving fast on a wet road we are in for trouble
So drive carefully..... it pays!!!

Karl Consiglio

Jan 19th 2010, 14:34

Cars should be made illegal, they are causing a lot more damage than drugs and alcohol.

Daniel Vella (Touring Club Malta)

Jan 19th 2010, 10:53

Isn't it time something was done about this road? A similar accident a few months ago, killed a young man. The surface of this road needs urgent reviving as it is particularly slippery on rainy days. If a car looses traction, there is no other way but to crash into the trees on the side. In this day and age one cannot understand how such a road, without crash barriers along the promenade is permitted. A crash barrier would surely make the road safer both for drivers and to prevent pedestrians from crossing the road irregularly. Wanting to see something positive, this couple could have ended much worse if there wasn't the pole and trees to stop them as the next stage was the sea.

Steve Mizzi

Jan 19th 2010, 10:06

Please before spouting out your ignorance, do some research:

This is a 40Km/h crash into a static object (wall):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ-xOplVUyc

A crash into a lamp post at 80Km/h:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX7zGbnfsI8

Various crash tests into lamp posts at 35, 70 and 100Km/h:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI6wBmFv7ig

As you can see from the various clips, speed is only one of the factors that determines the level of damage, there are other factors such type and size of car, type of lamp post, etc..

The point I am trying to make is that people should avoid jumping to conclusions without having all the facts/evidence at their disposal and the knowledge to interpret them.

Christopher Debattista

Jan 19th 2010, 09:38

I hate our shiny roads. The tarmac in Malta is of very poor quality. Just a little rain is enough to cause accidents, injuries and deaths but we still use the same lame tarmac. MTA should do something about this although I doubt it since they don't care much !!

Pierre Mangion

Jan 19th 2010, 09:27

without jumping into the merits if who's fault the accident was, i need to stress the need for better road surfaces and better road construction. being no expert in the construction of road, it does not take much to realise that most of the recently patched/re-surfaced roads already show a shine on the surfaces - i doubt this is what should happen. we hear our politicians compare Malta to other countries, particularly on matters relative to recession, crime, tourism...always in a bid to protray malta as a better place....never do we here them say that we're adopting standards in the construction of roads!!!!!! the recently surfaced patch in sliema strand has already had some of the material washed away by the rain. who is responsible for the procurment and subsequent approval of these works.

Joe Anastasi

Jan 18th 2010, 20:52

The damage caused by a direct frontal impact similar to that in the video could easily be caused by a car doing no more than 40kph. And 40 kph is by no stretch of the imagination excessive, even on a wet road, and even by a lousy driver. Note that I say impact speed of 40kph. If the driver was doing 50kph - again by no means excessive on that road - his speed on a road with so little adhesion, assuming he / she braked at all, may have been reduced to 40 at the point of impact. On a dry and grippy road you can brake without losing adhesion. This is less so on a dry lousy road like the one in question, and much worse on a wet and lousy surface, also like the one in question. So at the end of the day, from my experience of 45 years of studying car behaviour, I don't reckon that car would ever have been doing much more than 60kph, which nobody can say is excessive, unless of course you are an absolutely lousy driver.

David Schiavone

Jan 18th 2010, 18:33

From what I can see - the situation here is much more worse then the crash which took place on saturday. On saturday the crash clearly indicates that the driver was on average speeds of around 40 Km/h and due to bad road conditions the car understeered right into the showroom. This time - the car was travelling at around a minimum of 75 Km/h however due to extremely bad road conditions the car was completely damaged. MT - Malta Transport - Please do something about these dangerous Roads and provide us with better roads... and better Tyres ;-)!!

Alexander Barbara

Jan 18th 2010, 18:16

@Henry Calleja do you mind telling us how did you come to the conclusion that "She must have been driving recklessly" when the video shows the accident after it happened? Whatever is said the roads in Malta are the worst roads I have ever used and seen. In very simple terms they assist you in having an accident, instead of the other way round.

Henry Calleja

Jan 18th 2010, 16:08

If all those who blamed this accident on the slippery road have a look at the video above, they will immediately realise that the cause of this terrible accident was the driver's overspeeding. Why not blame it on the trees? She must have been driving recklessly.

S.Debono

Jan 18th 2010, 15:08

@ G Attard. I do agree with you that drivers need to be extra cautious, even more when it rains but still our roads are a mess and alot of accidents happen due to the state of our roads.I drive through marina street at least 3 times a day and on dry and rainy days i always slow down to 30 before that particular bend and still i feel the car skidding! This is not the 1st accident in Marina street in fact this same car is hiding the flowers of a recent accident which unfortunately the victim wasnt so lucky! so how many lives should be lost before crash barriers are placed or safer roads!!

Joseph N Attard

Jan 18th 2010, 14:56

Fact of the matter is that both causes mentioned contribute no end to our road accident rate. Whoever thinks that the abysmally bad state of most of our roads is not a major contributor to these accidents does not know much about driving, and certainly has not much of driving experience, especially abroad. That is why the Government's priorities in spending money on unnecessary projects (such as a new Parliament building) before bringing our road system up to standard is not understood by many. The other side of the coin is speed. Speed does not kill, as widely preached and believed. It is inappropriate speed that kills and maims. Inappropriate means driving fast beyond one's capabilities, beyond one's car's capabiliies, and beyond prevailing road and traffic capabilities. That is why limiting speed unecessarily on the few good roads we have has not served to lower our accident and death rate. On the other hand, most people drive beyond any one of the capabilities mentioned above all the time. We need to relearn how to drive safely. The authorities have much to answer for, for neglecting most of the preceeding for decades. Could they make a special effort to start now?

Deirdre Farrugia

Jan 18th 2010, 14:19

Just as well there was no one on the pavement at the time of the crash..... I run along there (on the pavement) and am always terrified about getting crashed into. Let's hope the passenger recovers. We're hearing about too many traffic accidents lately aren't we. Why can't we all drive safely, with caution and respect?

Mario Scicluna

Jan 18th 2010, 14:11

@A.Camilleri

Firstly, a speedy recovery to the injured.

Before you rush and accuse the Police Dept.(bilkemm mhux ha twahhal fil-Pulizija li kkagunaw il crash), re: the 112 calls, note that as soon as the calls goes through and someone acknowledges the calls to 112, the mechanism starts to act immediately, and the relevant, ambulance/wardens/district police/civil protection are contacted.
As for the 23 minutes it took for the Mobile Police to arrive, note also that the car would probably be on the beat, not waiting at the Police Station for your call! Surely they would be doing their job.
Instead of assisting or understanding, I suggest you inform yourself better and be grateful for the invaluable work done by the Police Force, Army etc.

Unfortunately, comments like yours instigate hatred and doubts on the good work by others.

G. Attard

Jan 18th 2010, 13:13

@D. Vella - if we all seem to know how bad our roads are and these accidents are caused when driving withing the speed limits then why are so many happening?? Are we always going to blame the state of the roads? Did you see the condition of that car? Bad roads may have caused the car to lose control but in no way would that have been the outcome of the car if it was driving within the speed limit. That car was going in the direction of Valletta, before the bend - there is nothing but straight road before it for a least 300 meters. Isn't it possible that the car was overspeeding and due to the on coming bend ahead started to brake and due to the road being slippery? Signs for slippery roads are there

Everyone seems hell bent on blaming the authorities that we cannot look at ourselves and see how we drive! If we know the conditions of our roads are bad, then we must drive slower when and after it rains!!! We all know that in no time soon the conditions are going to improve so we must be extra cautious.

DVella

Jan 18th 2010, 12:28

@G Attard, if you're that sick of it all then maybe you could prevail upon the responsible authorities to start getting their act together and build safer roads with a decent surface (i.e NOT one that becomes similar to an ice rink with a bit of rain), proper drainage and proper safety features . . . . why doesn't that nasty bend have a proper crash barrier, they seemed to think it was necessary along the centre strip but not along the sides . . . ??? (!)

Pontificating on excessive speed and the need to impose harsher penalties and reduce the speed limit to ridiculous levels only displays serious shortcomings in one's knowledge of driving . . . anhastly state of the local roads!

A.Camilleri

Jan 18th 2010, 12:23

i live there and heard the big bang and ran to my balcony.. after two 112 calls (from me only! i know my neighbours called too....) it took the first police car 23 minutes to arrive (from the station down the road) whilst cars were skidding to avoid crashing too, the second car from the depot side arrived at the same time as the journalist! along with the Ambulance. thank god and lucky that she wasnt badly injured as in 23 mins a lot could have happened. i was angry at that mostly......

jcmicallef

Jan 18th 2010, 11:17

unlucky to be involved in such a horrific crach, yet lucky not to have finished in the sea - only meters away!

This is another slippery (even when dry) stretch of road, however, that is not something unusual for Malta, so drivers need to be more cautious.

I wish the injured lady a speedy recovery.

Marc Cassar

Jan 18th 2010, 10:24

... and it shows that he was driving within the speed limit... at least it was not reported in the usual manner "seemed to have lost control"!

In most European countries - anyone involved in an accident is subjected to a breathalyser test on the spot or if injured, done at hospital. Was the driver checked?
Police can prosecute for - attempted manslaughter, reckless driving, damage to public property, over speeding, (possibly) DUI [driving under the influence] and probably others if they look.

Lawrence Gauci

Jan 18th 2010, 09:19

speedy recovery to the woman.... and that is why there should be adequate crash barriers in all arterial roads and some secondary roads.

G. Attard

Jan 18th 2010, 09:13

I'm really getting sick and tired of coming on here and finding new stories of people either getting seriously injured or killed in car accidents on our roads. It is happening so much lately, nearly 3 times a week!

When is the goverment and police going to do something to enforce stricter penalites for drivers? They should also put out shock tactics with very detailed advertisements in the media on what happens to the body in a car accident. Maybe this will hit home!

There is seriously something wrong with our mentality about driving if every week there is at least one serious car accident for such a small country. This problem needs to be addressed, even to the point where a police officer goes to schools and teaches them also the risks. Get them while they're young! It helps.

I hope this woman recovers.

daniel borg

Jan 18th 2010, 08:43

I am sure this accident could have been avoided with less speed and more caution, but i can't not mention that we have very bad and slippery roads, especially after it rains.

When is the Government/ADT going to take responsibility and action to give us safe roads of EU standard? I am sure that if our roads had to be surveyed by professionals the outcome would be less than satisfactory. I have driven in other countries, even in bad weather and i must say the roads where designed as much as possible to keep the car on the tarmac!

I hope that the day will come when we finally get good roads, all across this very small island. Is it so difficult to have decent roads on a tiny island like ours? It's unbeleivable!