There are regular reports of serious injuries caused by head-on collisions. The cars involved are new enough, therefore equipped with airbags that give a high degree of protection to both driver and any front- seat passenger. This, of course, depends on at least two conditions.

First, one must be sitting at a specified distance from the airbag. Secondly, the driver must keep his/her arms away from the centre of the steering wheel. A “bullet”, about the size of a saucer, shot at a driver’s arm at point blank, will cause a lot of harm.

A number of months ago, the Transport Authority presented a list of skills that driving schools had to cover and check off with each student. Airbag safety was not on the list and seems to have been disregarded. I asked a number of new drivers and all confirmed this. One wonders what else is lacking.

It’s high time that Transport Malta makes some serious efforts to educate the public about airbag safety.