Lawsuit over slippery Kappara roundabout

A Marsaxlokk student is suing the government and a landscape company after he destroyed his car in a crash which he says was caused by runoff water from the sprinklers at the Kappara roundabout.

Gulio Farrugia was on his way home last July 22 when his car skidded and slammed into an electricity pole, sustaining extensive damage.

It was about 4 a.m., there were few other cars on the road and he was driving his Nissan Almera at “normal speed”, Mr Farrugia claimed.

When he got to the south-bound bend of the large roundabout, his car skidded. It veered in the direction of a concrete barrier, beyond which is a sheer drop of a few storeys, but Mr Farrugia managed to steer the vehicle in the opposite direction and ended up crashing head-on into an electricity pole on the strip separating the two carriageways.

In the process, he missed a couple of taxis travelling at speed in the direction of Paceville. “Luckily, my passengers and I came out of it with only slight injuries and a big shock but things could have ended up very differently”.

Yet, the damage to the car was substantial. Moreover, Mr Farrugia was not fully insured, which means he has to bear all the expenses – repairing the vehicle is estimated to cost about €5,000.

In the judicial protest filed last week by his lawyer, Owen Bonnici, Mr Farrugia insists there was no factor, other than the wet surface of the road caused by the sprinklers on the roundabout, which led him to lose control of his vehicle.

There has been a wave of complaints about the risks posed by the roundabout’s sprinklers, which produce an uneven, wet and dry surface on an incline.

In fact, traffic expert Simon Micallef Stafrace had written in an article on The Times about the roundabout last year that the sprinklers could pose a danger to motorists. “Basically, any kind of substance thrown on a street may cause an accident. Now, if you’re talking about a road on an incline, the possibility of an accident occurring increases. Water on a curve on an incline is definitely hazardous,” Dr Micallef Stafrace said, adding it could cause vehicles, especially motorbikes, to skid.

His comment was supported by the experiences of other motorists who had spoken to the newspaper.

The experience of Stefan Schembri echoed that of Mr Farrugia even in the details. Mr Schembri had recounted he was approaching the roundabout at about 4 a.m. when he suddenly lost control of his car.

“I don’t think it’s a good situation that we have oil coming from a nearby petrol station and then there are sprinklers exacerbating the problem,” Mr Schembri said.The roundabout in question is managed by the Environmental Landscapes Consortium, which Mr Farrugia is suing along with the Resources Ministry and the San Ġwann local council.

ELC general manager Ronald Cuschieri, had told The Times some spillage would occur because the extreme edges of the turf had to be watered as well but the ELC tried to limit spillage as much as possible.Dr Cuschieri denied that the volume of water flowing onto the road was substantial or that this caused a problem in the area.

“Whatever the case, the volume of water involved does not make the road more slippery than when it rains,” he insisted.

“The truth is those who complain are in many instances speeding more than they should. Most do not seem to comprehend the need to keep in mind that the gradient of the road necessitates care and attention for their own safety at all times (water or not).”

The solution, Dr Cuschieri said, would be to have a buffer zone with no turf, making it unnecessary for the sprinklers to extend their reach to the edges of the roundabout.

When contacted about Mr Farrugia’s case, Dr Cuschieri said he preferred to make his comments in a judicial reply.