Transport Malta recently unveiled the establishment of Malta’s National Road Safety Council, whose aim is to raise public awareness about road safety.

The council will be pressing for stronger enforcement of road safety rules, clamping down on texting while driving, endemic lack of indicator use, double parking and road obstruction.

Although deaths on Maltese roads are relatively low, daily bumper-to-bumper accidents are rife. With about 300,000 cars on the roads, the Road Safety Council is urging drivers, as well as pedestrians (who are equally ill-disciplined), to join the effort for better behaviour on the roads.

The initial response to the belated setting up of a Road Safety Council is one of welcome and a deep sigh of “better late than never”.

A few years ago, the European Commission launched a safe-driving campaign aimed at cracking down ondrivers committing traffic offences abroad. One of the key points it made was that “the road user is the first link in the safety chain and the one most prone to error. Whatever the technical measures in place, the effectiveness of road safety policy depends ultimately on users’ behaviour. Education, training and enforcement are essential”.

In Malta, there is one element above all others that the council should concentrate on, both with drivers and their instructors, and this is the need for greater courtesy on the road. It is noteworthy that the three countries with the safest roads in Europe are Sweden, the UK and the Netherlands, in that order. What marks these countries out when you drive in them is the courtesy of the drivers. In Malta the opposite is true.

Drive on any road in Malta and the lack of driver courtesy is appalling. As the council highlighted, drivers constantly jump red lights. They rarelysignal. They drive in the wrong lane. They cut in haphazardly without warning. They drive too slowly or too fast for the road conditions. They tailgate. They stop in the middle of the road to have a chat, carelessly holding up the traffic behind. Lights that should be dipped are on full beam. The list goes on and on.

What should be done? There are three key steps that need to be taken. First, impose better road discipline and behaviour by a rigid application of the law. Second, teach habits of courtesy through education and public media campaigns. Third, raise the standards of driving tests for drivers and the instructors who provide lessons.

Traffic police on our roads are mostly notable for their aggressive manner. They do not concentrate on the real driving problems, and nor do they deal with them with the basic courtesy required. While this state of affairs continues, the Maltese driver will continue to flout the law. Better road discipline and behaviour have to be learnt through strict enforcement of the law.

The overall level of driver training and testing should be greatly improved. It should include continuous personal development for instructors and examiners, with emphasis being placed on the quality of training.

This should be designed to produce courteous and safe drivers for life and not merely drivers competent enough simply to pass their driving test. Instructors themselves have to know how to teach and not just put a learner behind the wheel without also giving them basic information about possible hazards.

The tasks before the council are formidable for, after so many years ofa laissez-faire attitude by the authorities, the bad habits are deeply ingrained. No less than a culture change is now required.

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