Maltese drivers spend 52 hours in gridlock traffic every year, a study by the University of Malta has found.
The comparative study, parts of which were seen by this newspaper, found that motorists have an hour unnecessarily added to their commute every week.
This, the study says, is because drivers experienced about 17 seconds of delay for every kilometre driven in 2012. This is more than 280 per cent more than the six seconds spent by drivers in other European countries.
The study was done by the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development and commissioned by the European Commission after the island was instructed to “reduce emissions from transport” last year.
The recommendation had followed an analysis of the situation on Maltese roads by Brussels, which had found a major congestion problem when compared to the EU average.
Mary Attard, who co-authored the report, told Times of Malta the figures were based on internationally-recognised economic formulas that provided a snapshot of the Maltese situation.
She said the total time Maltese drivers spent in traffic was significantly longer than that registered in the United Kingdom, 30 hours, but less than that spent by drivers in the infamously-congested Greater London.
“This shows we need to compare traffic in Malta to that in other European cities and not to entire European countries,” Prof. Attard said.
The heavy traffic was also costing the taxpayer big. The study in fact found that the loss of productivity and economic productivity cost a staggering €118 million in 2012 alone.
Traffic accidents cost the country a previously unobserved €84 million in disability benefits and loss of motorists’ productivity while the environmental impact of air pollution cost the country €14. The cost of mitigating the resulting climate change was calculated at about €47 million.
In total, the study says, traffic cost the country an extra €274 million.
The situation, however, is hardly improving. In fact, the research team found that if the government does not hit the brakes on the current transport policy and drastically improve the situation, the external traffic cost would grow by about €43 million in the next five years. It would then accelerate up to €322 million by 2030 as the situation on Maltese roads drives straight into a brick wall.
In a bid to avoid this, the university research team made three proposals: staggering work and school hours to distribute the traffic more evenly throughout the day and reduce peak hour traffic; reduce the existing number of cars on the road and promoting car sharing; and alternative transport.
14,470 accidents last year
• There were more than 14,470 traffic accidents last year, up three per cent over 2013, according to the National Statistics Office.
• The north of the island was the worst black spot, with about 5,349 accidents happening there.
• Birkirkara was the scene of about 960 accidents, followed by Qormi (746) and Marsa (674).
• Ten people died in traffic accidents and 1,796 people were injured.
• Three-quarters of the accidents involved privately-owned cars and 15 per cent motorcycles.