The public rightly reacted to the tragic news of the death on the road of an experienced cyclist with great sadness and a profound sense of outrage. Not only was Clifford Micallef a consummate cyclist but also a charitable one who died just days before joining a Lifecycle team on another marathon to raise money for the Renal Unit at Mater Dei Hospital.
A 21 year-old motorist from Ħamrun has been charged with Mr Micallef's involuntary death as well as with driving under the influence of drink and while uninsured. The rule of law demands that the case is left for the courts to handle.
However, tragic accidents of this sort draw stark attention to the dangerous road conditions faced by the beleaguered cycling fraternity in Malta and to the serious shortcomings of the roads where cyclists face dangerous situations on a daily basis largely because motorists are not conditioned to sharing the road with cyclists or because certain provisions are lacking.
To say that there is total lack of encouragement of cycling in Malta would be a gross understatement. Roads continue to be designed solely for motor vehicles. Cycling is positively discouraged by the often reckless and fearsome behaviour of motorists towards cyclists, which compounds the lack of road amenities for cyclists. The perception that cycling is "dangerous" deters most parents from buying a bicycle for their children and, indeed, for themselves.
Apart from denying children the opportunity of this healthy form of exercise, the absent bicycle mentality also has a wider health dimension. Malta has the lowest level of physical activity of all EU countries and only 0.8 per cent claim to use a bicycle. Walking and cycling are a simple way of improving public health. Cycling has the added bonus of a decrease in air pollution if car use diminishes. To this are added quieter and safer roads and a healthier economy through a lower use of fossil fuels.
Just over a year ago, a report titled, Towards A Low-Carbon Society: The Nation's Health, Energy Security And Fossil Fuels, published by The Today Public Policy Institute, addressed the serious problem of Malta's pollution from traffic, to which is added further pollution from the island's 100 per cent dependence on oil for energy generation. Part of the solution is to reduce car dependence. A section of the report (part III) was entirely devoted to promoting bicycle use and contained about 60 recommendations each of which is worth re-visiting by the authorities responsible for roads. Not one of these has been introduced. About 40 would cost little or nothing to implement, 10 or so would need a very modest budgetary outlay and the remaining would be marginally more expensive.
The more important of these recommendations amount to no more than simple measures aimed at changing motorists' attitudes to cyclists through information campaigns, changes to the highway code, introduction of legislation to protect cyclists and a tough stance against anybody who injures a cyclist, as is the case in most EU countries.
"Unlike motorists, cyclists rarely injure other people and surely it is the health and safety of the whole travelling public which should be considered when public policy towards transport is being formulated". This quotation is taken from an article that appeared in the British Medical Journal 30 years ago. It is time the government took this to heart. If it does, Mr Micallef will not have died for nothing.