Cars collide sideways in unusual incident

D Hamilton

Mar 25th 2010, 13:54

Not even David Hasselhoff could have done it better !!!!

I have to suggest higher barriers thou or some sort of barrier that could keep a car from rolling over.......accident could have been much worse.

jafarrugia

Mar 25th 2010, 12:43

It also goes to show how badly the roads are designed, you should never put a pavement and then a crash barrier one foot behind it ,hence the word crash barrier, the point of a barrier is to deflect you from going over it . It doesnt take a genius to understand it, if the Renault was going faster it would have clipped the pavement and gone over the barrier and landed on another car below. so much for having a crash barrier.
The barrier is also too low, a truck would simply run straight over it.

Dave Alan Caruana

Mar 25th 2010, 10:07

Firstly, the VW is a bigger and heavier car than the Renault, which generally means better brakes. I drive a large car, and it can stop quicker than most other cars on the road. In emergency braking situations, ABS is both a blessing and a curse - with ABS it's perfectly OK to break with full force, and you won't lose control, however overall brakeforce tends to be slightly less.
Most importantly - I drive this road almost daily, and firstly the pedestrians crossing there are a real danger, and during rush hour a moment's inattention coupled with an unpredicted action by the front driver can easily eat up the distance between cars. Seems like nobody's really at fault and Mr. Renault Driver has a hefty bill to deal with, poor guy!

Sam Smith

Mar 25th 2010, 08:31

lol no one ever learns...

G.Schembri

Mar 25th 2010, 01:18

Cannot people realise that in the morning during the rush hour, cars drive very close together. We should all thank God no University student was run ovetr, It is shameful how the KSU are fighting for a car park andnever but never mention the danger students who cannot afford their own private car are facing everyday to get to university.

David Schiavone

Mar 24th 2010, 23:31

A very unfortunate accident.. thank god that no-one got hurt. As an old-friend of mine i know edward hughes very well... and I agree with his points...yes dwardu the roads are hopeless...

Dgatt

Mar 24th 2010, 16:52

@PJ Mifsud
"You must either have been driving too close to the VW car in front of you or else going at a higher speed than what is considered as safe NOT to have managed to stop your car within a reasonable distance" - I disagree with you there as sometimes with small cars having say a 1300 cc engine, sudden braking can cause the car to sort of skid and not come to an immediate halt due to the light weight of the vehicle compared with the powerful engine.

I drive a ford Ka and I was once involved in an accident whilst I was doing 40km/h, when a car didnt stop at a stop sign and the brakes 'locked' exactly as the driver of the clio described below. Could be the quality of the tarmac as well.

Anyway it would be great to hear the version of the incident below from the mentioned pedestrian who crossed the road. :)

E.Schembri

Mar 24th 2010, 13:11

I can confirm what the drivers said. Every day people (mainly students) are crossing at the end of the fly-over. This is a very dangerous spot as once they cross the end of the fly-over, they must wait on the centre strip to cross the next road coming from the St Venera tunnels.
Drivers coming over the the tip of the fly-over and coming down hill find these people dashing in front of them.

It is only a matter of time before a serious accident happens there.

Thanks God no one was hurt this time.

PJ Mifsud

Mar 24th 2010, 12:53

@ The Renault driver

You must either have been driving too close to the VW car in front of you or else going at a higher speed than what is considered as safe NOT to have managed to stop your car within a reasonable distance.

If you insist that your brakes got locked, hard luck then!! However you have certainly managed to post a negative and unfavourable advert to the car makers.

RGatt

Mar 24th 2010, 12:12

@ Mr. Edward Hughes - by the looks of it, the renault did not even have time to break. To me it looks like the VW for some reason had to brake instantly and the Renault not keeping the proper distance had no time to think, let alone brake. Yes our road surfaces are not the best to drive on, but a large majority of our drivers do not know the first basic rules of driving. Some of them can't even follow the rules in a Lidl carpark, as even here they overspeed and go against the arrows on the ground. Some of them are so stupid that when one tries politely to draw their attention of the dangers, they'll take it personally and will want to eat up your face as happened to me when I met an idiot of a woman with her toddler on the front seat one fine Saturday morning. Probably what we need here is get proper police or wardens from say England or another euro state, who know nobody here and who know their duties, to accompany our police and wardens for a while in order to explain and show how things should be.

mary vella

Mar 24th 2010, 12:09

thank god no one got hurt..i live in luqa if the police don t show up at the end of garibaldi in the morning it would be impossible for traffic to move.tnx police .we need to say thank you once in a while

V. Micallef

Mar 24th 2010, 11:32

@ The Driver of the Renault
The Renault Clio is fitted with ABS as standard.
The argument rages on.

Ha ha

THE DRIVER OF THE RENAULT

Mar 24th 2010, 10:44

Now that all of you guys came to odd conclusion, and believe me it was very amusing to see with want stories some people came up with. You should all take up writing for some good TV series. I appreciate the comments of N Xuereb, Edward Hughes and obviously the driver of the VW for talked some sense. I was not speeding nor there was any road rage involved…and if any of you guys have any sense you would notice that had I been driving at a high speed I would have ended up two storeys down. There is a Bus Stop at the side of this main road and apparently students every day cross a MAIN ROAD during rush hour to go to university. To avoid from killing the pedestrian the driver two cars in-front had to break suddenly and so did the car in-front of me. I tried to stop my car my breaks locked and in that split second I swerved my steering wheel to try my very best not to hit the car in-font of me (the VW). That is how my car ended hitting the pavement going up to the barrier.

r.ebejer

Mar 24th 2010, 09:57

dak xil listilla prova jaghmel??

JAttard

Mar 24th 2010, 09:02

Something might went wrong in the Renault's flying kit !

JAttard

Mar 24th 2010, 09:02

Something might went wrong in the Renault's flying kit !

JOHN O SCERRI

Mar 24th 2010, 07:22

NEED FOR SPEED ....ONLY IN MALTA ??? !!!!!!!!!

N. Farrugia

Mar 24th 2010, 00:27

@ Maria Galea:

certa?


loooool

J.Grech

Mar 23rd 2010, 23:54

@ Joseph Calleja

are you serious?? the least you should complain about are the traffic policemen!! they are always present during the busy hours of traffic.....and they do help!!!....and anyway, you want lots of police officers scattered in our roads, do you want a police state by any chance?? Blame it on the drivers....not on the police officers!!

odette camilleri bonett

Mar 23rd 2010, 22:22

@ Maria Galea

I cannot stop wondering whether your comment was what you were really thinking, and moreover believing??!!!

You sound so sure of what happened

odette camilleri bonett

Mar 23rd 2010, 22:16

@ Maria Galea

are you serious????

Glenn Ace

Mar 23rd 2010, 22:14

@Maria Galea

Are you serious? .. The motorcycles are there for investigation .............. :/

Dennis Agius

Mar 23rd 2010, 21:00

JOSEPH CALLEJA
nispera li qed ticcajta bil kummenti tieghek! kemm tahseb li ghandu jkun hemm Pulizija fit triq? tahseb li jekk tara wiehed f'kull triq trid li jkollok nofs Malta fil Pulizija, jista jkun hemm xi hadd bhalek li wara jibda jghid li sirna stat Polizjesk? taf x'ridt tghid, li hemm bzonn immedjat li il pieni jizdiedu b.mod esagerat ha jkun ta deterrent, l-assikurazzjonijiet jwaqqfu milli jassiguraw persuni li jkunu involuti f'incidenti ta spis. dan il kumment kont nistenna.

Karl Glanville

Mar 23rd 2010, 18:31

The picture above shows the driving skills we have here in Malta......

marthese mussett

Mar 23rd 2010, 18:00

Fast and the Furious 4.Thank You God.....that I wasn t there....can t imagine my little ones' faces if they witnessed something like this.

Maria Galea

Mar 23rd 2010, 17:57

It is very clear. There was a police motorcycle stopped in the middle of the road and the drive of the vw had to stop suddenly

The driver of the VW

Mar 23rd 2010, 17:54

The accident looks bad but it was very simple and stupid, a pedestrian crossed the end of the bridge, resulting in all the cars braking suddenly and the Renault didnt stop in time and hit the pavement going up to the barrier, and sorry for all those who let their immagination run wild saying overtaking and other stuff. How can you overtake there ??? and we weren't fighting for a position neither> :)))

Nigel Lawrence

Mar 23rd 2010, 17:54

I always suspected it- Some people know how to drive a car sideways.

L Tabone

Mar 23rd 2010, 17:54

how did that happen? did Renault driver try to overtake on a single lane???

M Pace

Mar 23rd 2010, 15:10

This confirms my theory that driving tests should be based on iq test, etiquette and anger management and driving ability!

a schembri

Mar 23rd 2010, 15:00

Thank God it did not fall off the other side because it would have been a nightmare of an accident. This was a miracle. I'm sure the VW driver was pressing the Renault .....the latter having no room to move. Road rage is on the increase. Please take care on the roads, especially in the summer months to come.

Joseph Calleja

Mar 23rd 2010, 14:53

First of all thank God nobody was hurt. Wow finally 2 motorcycle police on the scene! I knew they would show up someday. We really need more of these 2 wheel cowboys if the police are serious in reducing serious accidents, reduce speeding and most of all stop drivers from using their mobile while operating a vehicle. As I mentioned many times before speed cameras are stationary and only police one section of the road, but traffic police are very mobile and can show up anytime anywhere. Excessive speed and too many reckless drivers = accidents. Something has to be done to stop these senseless accidents. Maybe we can keep track of how many of these traffic police show up for the Pope's visit!

Michael Neville Cassar

Mar 23rd 2010, 14:29

This is a case where the driver at fault should have his/her driving licence withdrawn for at least 5 years and be re-examined to have it back.

Edward Hughes

Mar 23rd 2010, 13:58

Every day we see more car incidents, and as usual we read debates of blame. Of course we know that someone had to make the mistake for this to happen, either a pedestrian or the driver…but, I wouldn’t just blame them! How about blaming the roads for not having any grip?! I’m sure that if the roads were designed with better tarmac that a car’s response time for stopping would improve! So how can I blame a driver if there are question marks with the roads we have? It’s all propaganda to blame the drivers, and deviate blame from the appropriate people!

N. Xuereb

Mar 23rd 2010, 12:22

Don't judge.... cause the car in front had to make a sudden stop due to a person who crossed suddenly.

lgalea

Mar 23rd 2010, 12:21

One of them must have thought that s/he had a flying car.
Joking apart, what if the renault didn't stop on the barrier and ended up on another car on the lower lane?

Dennis Agius

Mar 23rd 2010, 12:10

anzi ma pruvax jghaddi minn fuq is saqf jew minn taht il karozza l-ohra!

S Vella

Mar 23rd 2010, 12:06

Last Sunday our roads had heavy traffic with most of the people going out to enjoy the beautiful day.
The traffic jam from Zebbiegh to Mosta was moving very slowly thus creating a que from the Mosta roundabout all the way to Zebbiegh. Almost all civilised drivers were in lane but three youngsters with a posh class were not civilised to wait like everyone else but decided to overtake on the wrong side of the road all the way, and when they see cars coming in the opposite direction they just pull over infront of whoever is correctly in lane, or drive close to the car in lane pressing them to give them way....unbelievable what irresponsible uncivilised people we have on our roads. How come on such roads which are always jammed with traffic on public holidays you dont see a policeman or warden? Are cameras only used to fine overspeeding? arent irresponsable drivers like these creating danger on out roads??

mary kelly

Mar 23rd 2010, 12:04

only in Malta eh!

R Micallef

Mar 23rd 2010, 11:23

If it was the other way round (I mean the VW instead of the Renault) I would have thought of a new Herby ;)

pat micallef

Mar 23rd 2010, 11:20

How did the renault driver manage to get out?? climbed out of the window and onto the roof??? Seriously?!!!

Adrian Gouder

Mar 23rd 2010, 11:11

Just a month ago at the bottom in Msida just before the regional road traffic lights, my wife and I were driving towards the traffic lights (in our own lane), when a hot headed young woman tried to force herself into our lane from the right, so as to avoid waiting or going round again! She ended up bumping into the side of our car too. This behaviour is quite simply bizarre, but increasing!!

Tony Gatt

Mar 23rd 2010, 10:29

I wonder what the investigating magistrate will make of this one!

André Xuereb

Mar 23rd 2010, 10:14

... how?

Eric Camilleri

Mar 23rd 2010, 10:10

If you want to see impossible driving it has to be in Malta. What exactly was any one or both of the drivers trying to do ? I drive from underneath this lane and many other similar death traps every day and it is always a thought in my mind if something worst similar to this were to happen. St Venera tunnels come to mind with all that steep stonework on each side that could easily come loose by time or maliciously on purpose. A few months ago around 1am driving out of the St Venera tunnels towards Marsa there about 7 stone slabs broken up across the road some 10 metres from the tunnel exit. None of us drivers who ended up having to stop and remove these slabs ourselves could make out if these fell off some truck or if they where thrown off the tunnel's boundary edge by some sick mind. This was one time where I thanked the speed cameras since besides the unimaginable thought of having such slabs crash on cars, speed crashing into one of the slabs could also destroy a car with obvious consequences.

Ramon Casha

Mar 23rd 2010, 10:09

Not the best place to overtake IMHO

Deirdre Farrugia

Mar 23rd 2010, 10:08

That gives overtaking a whole new meaning!

Glad to hear no-one was hurt :)

Matthew Andy Borg

Mar 23rd 2010, 10:07

I bet this is a case of road rage where one of the drivers did not want to let the other pass or both cars went up the lane together in a pride fight!

G.Caruana

Mar 23rd 2010, 10:01

Whoever is at fault... haqqu capcipa eh gifiri lol

N. Farrugia

Mar 23rd 2010, 09:59

is-soltu hux xi hadd rasu iebsa ma jridx icedi!

Paul Barrett

Mar 23rd 2010, 09:56

France v Germany International speedway race ?
or
Two into one does not go.
or
A race to see who could get their towel down on the sunbed first?

m zammit

Mar 23rd 2010, 09:55

Hawn nuqqas kbir ta dixxiplina fis sewqan ghax hafna sewwieqa jitilqau tard mid dar umbghab gass down kullumkien,hadd ma jcedi lil hadd u hafna minn dawn is sewwieqa jiksru il ligijiet tat traffiku bla razan .Hemm bzonn aktar infurzar fit toroq specjalment bil lejl bil bozzoz li qed jintuzaw f'certi karozzi ghax huma ta periklu ghal vetturi li jkunu gejjijn minn nahha opposta.

M Cassar

Mar 23rd 2010, 09:51

Give way. ha ha

Peter Bonnici

Mar 23rd 2010, 09:50

The stupidity isn't unusual at all !

D Cardona

Mar 23rd 2010, 09:44

LOL

Joe Camilleri

Mar 23rd 2010, 09:42

did the renault driver imagined that he was on a skateboard?

Daniel Laus

Mar 23rd 2010, 09:41

Thank God nobody was injured!

Joseph Schembri

Mar 23rd 2010, 09:40

How?????

A. Saliba

Mar 23rd 2010, 09:36

Looks like the driver in the VW tried to overtake the Renault in this one-lane overpass. Great thinking.

A Agius

Mar 23rd 2010, 09:36

Couldn't help but giggle!

Timmy Farrugia

Mar 23rd 2010, 09:35

erm how did they end up like that? :S