I am a retired French national who spends a large part of his time in Malta and Gozo. I have already driven many months on your roads and I must say I have always been amazed and terrified by the dangerous driving of a significant minority of people in this country.

Speeding, dangerous overtaking, refusal to give way and mobile telephone use are among the most common offences I observe and endure every day.

I also read almost every day in The Times reports of road accidents and complaints by readers and commentators about this situation, which is worsening due to the increasingly high density of vehicles.

This should not come at all as a surprise since I am also puzzled by the insufficient presence of police on the roads to enforce the basic rules of the Highway Code.

Let us be serious. Malta does not have any other option than to implement an efficient and strict road safety policy based on the following two measures: the introduction of a driving licence with points and a strong police presence on the roads to catch offenders.

The driving licence with points means that each driver holds a capital of points which diminishes according to the significance of the offences he or she makes. When the small capital of points is spent the driving licence is lost.

The second measure is that the police should be permanently on the roads to catch offenders, in particular with mobile speed cameras, and this would obviously require reorganising police duties.

All this has been achieved successfully in other European countries including France, and this is the only route this island can take if it really wants the Highway Code to replace the law of the jungle which nowadays so often prevails on Maltese and Gozitan roads and streets. This a matter of urgency and, of course, political will.