Any piece of ground that can support a vehicle on it is safe. Every vehicle sitting secure on that piece of ground is safe and reasonably "green". Complications begin when a human starts that vehicle and expects that piece of ground to turn into a safe road. There is no such beast. It's the driver who has to make the road safe for him/herself. OK, don't shoot me, just ponder upon these points. All through please, take these as a given. The driver is sober, healthy and alert. The vehicle is in excellent condition all around.

Most accidents occur within a short distance from the driver's home. That's a statistic from much larger countries than Malta. One expects it to be truer here. The driver knows the road well; any precautions to take because of children present, blind corners and any hazards.

Speed is the culprit. Wrong. Lack of adjustment of speed to the prevailing conditions is what causes most accidents. It doesn't matter if a driver thinks he has quick reflexes and the best brakes on a car, there is still no way of being able to stop on a dime (OK, make that 10c, same size of coin). Approaching a sharp curve there might be another driver who is certain of the ability to stop on a dime. One will be grateful that more than minimum stopping distance was planned. Yes, most of our roads are narrow, poorly planned, full of potholes. Many drivers are irresponsible by parking or stopping where they shouldn't. Many drivers don't indicate their intentions. Having all these, and other positive reminders, the most one should hear about is an occasional fender bender.

Of course, enforcing officers should make sure that offenders and impaired drivers are taken care of so that everyone will drive on our existing roads, which seem to get undeserved blame.