Whoever resides in Mosta area consisting of the lower part of Dawret il-Wied into Triq il-Fortizza and Triq il-Fortizza all the way to San Pawl tat-Targa, and Vjal il-Qalbiena Mostin is living a constant nightmare.
These roads have become the training grounds for a group of irresponsible, accelerator-happy, careless youngsters, recklessly driving their modified hot tuned, noisy Honda CRXs, Toyota Starlets and the like.
This practice has been going on for quite a long time now, and not just over the weekend, but also during weekdays and at all hours, especially early evenings and early mornings.
It seems that the mechanic who carries out modifications to these cars takes them out for trial runs at unsocial hours, causing excessive noise as the engines rev up. On October 25 last year, one of these drivers crashed into three parked cars, owned by the same person, completely wrecking two of them. The other car was extensively damaged and yet nobody wants to take any responsibility. What are the police waiting for?
Recently, a neighbour's boundary wall was knocked down (for the second time) by a driver. Two other cars have knocked down electricity poles in the early morning hours, and on March 16 at about 6 p.m., another car overturned.
All these incidents were caused through negligence and speeding along these roads in Mosta.
Complaints were made to the local council and senior police officials, and still no action has been taken.
What are the authorities waiting for? For more damage to be caused to third parties, or perhaps till a passerby or jogger is run over? Speed cameras, sleeping policemen and police patrols are called for, but it seems that every authority is dragging its feet.
Are these vehicles legal? Do they have correct VRT certificates? Are they properly insured?
It is easy for insurance companies to get off the hook when it is found that the actual vehicles do not tally with the details given in the insurance policy.
Do the police press charges against these drivers, especially when they are involved in accidents?
Does the ADT confiscate vehicles if found to have been modified and tampered with?
There are many measures that the police and the Transport Authority can take, but none seem to be forthcoming. What are we waiting for?