Pierre Vella, Malta Road Safety Council

Unfortunately, we have already had the first road fatality this New Year. A person full of life, passionate about cars, tragically lost his life while driving his recent acquisition, a motorbike. By the time of going to print, more might have lost their lives on our roads.

Tackling road accidents is a global issue. It is a recurrent topic at the United Nations and the European Union. Too many lives are lost in every country due to a careless attitude by both motorists and pedestrians. Unfortunately, bikers are more prone to injuries because once machine and rider part company an injury is almost certain.

The media highlight fatalities and major accidents but accidents occur constantly and the figures are alarming. Insurance claims amount to about €50 million each year. A sum of such proportions is surely a cause for concern.

Is there a way to dramatically reduce or, better still, eliminate tragic road accidents? It is a difficult task but it is not impossible if everyone assumes his/her responsibility.

Education is of prime importance whatever the age to drive home the idea that any vehicle on the road can be a commodity, a utility or a deadly weapon.

A quick look at recent fatal accidents involving bikes reveals that a number of them happened when the vehicle was going at high speed. Speed, in a way, is a sense of achievement. It takes the machine and the body to a new ‘dimension’. All motor sports generate this sensation. Motor sport is, however, practised in a controlled environment, with everyone taking on board all the necessary safety measures to make the sport safe. Even then, on entering a track, it is declared that motor sport is dangerous.

Every user must understand that a road is shared not owned. Road users who do not follow road etiquette are probably the ones causing accidents. Everyone would have successfully undergone a driving test before getting the licence but do we throw away the rule book immediately after?

A driving licence gives us the authority to drive on the roads only if we observe the laws. Not observing these laws can endanger our lives and that of others. That is why education has been the Malta Road Safety Council’s top priority last year and will continue to be so this year.

No matter the infrastructure or the amount of enforcement, in the end it boils down to the individual on the road.

Even with all the latest technology and safety features, people still get killed. The authorities invest heavily in safety furniture for our ‘fast roads’, a case in point is the Coast Road. Existing crash barriers are all road legal but will only cope with normal traffic behaviour not a motor vehicle or bike travelling at double the speed limit. One has to be aware of road conditions and adapt one’s driving techniques. Blaming the roads when being involved in an accident is no excuse.

There is more to it than that; Malta needs a bold culture change. Too many motorists choose to drive under the influence of alcohol, impairing their judgement, and risking not only their lives but others’ too.

Too many tragedies have hit us recently, that is why the government took firm action on drink-driving with the newly-passed legislation. The legislation has not only set an overall lower limit for all drivers but it will also introduce the implementation of the demerit point system, which will surely curb abuse.

Further enforcement on our roads will definitely help. CCTV surveillance can help control the arrogance of double parking, exiting on red lights and distracted driving.

Road accidents are a reality but if each and every road user respects everyone around, the future can be brighter and definitely safer.

Mark Anthony Sammut, Pn Electoral Candidate

The steady increase in road accidents and the resulting injuries and fatalities is not simply a perception but is proven by statistics.

Moreover, the disproportionate increase in motorcycle accidents, which is greater than the increase in the proportion of people using them, shows that motorcyclists and cyclists are more vulnerable. This needs to be addressed if we want to encourage people to move away from their cars and use these modes of transport to ease traffic congestion problems.

The Nationalist Party last year published a policy document entitled ‘Reducing traffic congestion’. Although its proposals aim to tackle traffic congestion, some of them overlap with improving road safety.

Decreasing the number of cars on the road is the most obvious way of reducing the number of accidents. Therefore, measures intended to encourage people to use different types of transport, like providing dedicated transport for students and government employees, incentivising motorbike and bicycle take-up schemes, car-sharing, voluntary opt-in schemes for selected-day car usage and increasing soft-node bicycle and walking lanes, intermodal systems and bus-to-bike-to-walk connection points are all positive proposals that can take people away from their cars, ease traffic and the associated road rage impatience, and reduce traffic accidents.

Another top priority is to increase investment aimed at improving our road infrastructure. Many road hazards exist because of lack of maintenance: potholes, debris and fuel spills can all be fatal for motorcyclists and cyclists and immediate response teams should be in place to address and clean up any such occurrences from our roads.

Moreover, an effort should be made to invest in suitable crash barriers, non-slippery road markings and ensure road surfaces in general are more resistant to our weather conditions.

A bigger effort should be made to educate road users and raise awareness on road safety. This needs to go hand-in-hand with enforcement. Unfortunately, no matter how many safety campaigns are run and how much money is spent in educating people, some will never listen unless they are disciplined for their erratic and dangerous behaviour.

There need to be tougher fines and licence suspensions for people caught using their mobile phones while driving. Same goes for those driving under the influence of alcohol.

The recent amendments on drink-driving are a positive initiative but, like all laws, unless these are properly enforced nothing will come out of them.

And what about double-parking? Have you ever tried counting the number of cars double-parked on our roads, closing a whole lane, simply because the driver did not feel like walking an extra couple of metres to buy his newspaper or breakfast pastizzi? And where are the local wardens and the police when they are really needed?

Switching on your hazard lights has become a free pass to park wherever you feel like, be it on the pavement, a double yellow-line or be even the middle of the road. Such haphazard parking causes motorcyclists and cars to drive the wrong way to overtake, increasing traffic hazards and traffic congestion.

It is not enough to enact laws. They need to be enforced. To do that we need to increase police presence on our roads.

This needs to be accompanied by education campaigns stressing the mutual respect required by all road users: pedestrians, motorcyclists, bikers and car drivers.

When crossing the road we should use traffic lights or zebra crossings, wherever available.

When overtaking motorcycles and bicycles, car drivers should leave them enough space to manoeuvre and motorcyclists need to remember that our roads are no racetrack.

If we are all better aware of how the way we behave may endanger others and be more respectful to each other, roads can become a safer place for everyone.