So the world’s largest twin-jet, long-range, wide-bodied, airplane disappears from the face of the earth without a trace and I get tracked down driving a couple of miles per hour over the limit by those speed cameras. Absurd as it may sound, I seem to be in the minority complaining about speed cameras.
According to a recent survey carried in Times of Malta this month, 75 per cent of the population is in favour of speed cameras, while four out of every 10 are not satisfied with local wardens. A very interesting fact indeed!
Times of Malta also carried a piece on some 24,000 vehicles without a paid-up licence. Staggering figures, although the report further states that only 1,600 of them are still on the roads. Where on earth are all the rest?
Another interesting story this month was the one about the “unofficial” horse races held at the Mrieħel Bypass, causing undue frustration to many hundreds of motorists who found this main thoroughfare closed.
It transpires that no police permit was issued, even though it seems police were present diverting the traffic. Is this really the law of the jungle? How can this happen at a time when we are debating whether horses should be allowed on our roads! Was it legal or not?
We also read that the €52 million flood relief project, co-funded by the EU, should be completed in the first quarter of next year and finally we can look for chaos-free roads around Balzan, Lija, Attard, Iklin, Birkirkara, Gżira, Msida, Żebbuġ, Qormi, Marsa, Żabbar and Marsascala, when the first rains come again in a few months’ time.
No more photoshopped posts of people windsurfing down Valley Road, or dolphins leaping out of the road in front of Msida church. At least I hope.
Last week saw the close of applications for the once-only grant for vehicles registered and licensed for personal use between May 1, 2004, and December 31, 2008. So far, there are 7,000 car owners eligible for a VAT refund on vehicle registration tax.
Another piece that caught my eye this month was an initiative taken by the Kunsill Studenti Universitarji in conjunction with Malta Public Transport and Transport Malta aimed at encouraging the use of alternative methods of transport to and from University campus, through a €5,000 KSU Transport Fund.
We also read that an alternative to residential parking schemes will be a timed parking system which will ensure a fair balance between all competing land uses for the existing on-street car parking demand, it was reported.
Hard to believe is the fact that only 21 vehicles failed the emissions test last year out of more than 12,500 reports that were sent via SMS. Only 250 were called and 21 of them failed the test.
A lot happenng in the motoring world indeed!
motoring@timesofmalta.com