Motorists in Mosta, Żabbar, Naxxar and Lija bear the brunt of Malta’s poorly maintained road network more than anybody else, according to data on claims filed by irate drivers between 2007 and last year.

Mosta topped the list with 32 claims, including 10 that were upheld. Five are still pending. For the first time, no compensation requests were filed last year. Żabbar was a close second with 31 claims, of which a third were upheld, followed by Naxxar and Lija with 30 cases each.

Data tabled recently in Parliament by Transport Minister Joe Mizzi in reply to a question by Labour MP Anthony Agius Decelis showed that, in the period under review, the total number of claims amounted to 548. A third of them were upheld, resulting in a total compensation of €25,964. In the vast majority of cases the costs were borne by the transport watchdog, bar some exceptions when the local council, private contractors or third parties agreed to settle the claim.

Nearly half of the claims (264) were turned down, with 76 cases still pending. Among those still pending is the highest ever compensation claim of €13,367 over a Kirkop road. The case dates back to 2011.

A year-by-year analysis reveals that, in 2007 and 2008, only one claim out of 52 requests was accepted, resulting in a meagre compensation of €164.

In contrast, in 2012, a record level of compensation, amounting to €7,266, was paid as 55 requests out of a record 140 were upheld. This was the only year in which claims over the poor state of roads in Gozo were made. While a request over a Żebbuġ road was turned down, in Xewkija a private contractor had agreed to compensate the vehicle owner €702.

The largest compensation awarded – €1,583 – was in 2010 but no details were provided, such as what had actually happened and which entity had forked out the money.

Half of all claims successful in 2014

Though in the last two years of the period under review the level of compensation was in decline, in 2014 the approval rate was at its highest ever because 49 per cent of the claims were upheld, resulting in a total payout of €4,040.

In most cases, the compensation request was filed against Transport Malta but there were also a handful of instances in which drivers sought compensation from a local council or a private contractor.

In the case of arterial and distributor roads, compensation requests must be filed directly with the transport watchdog.

The report has to include a police report, photographic evidence of the state of the road to corroborate the claim and a receipt of repair works carried out by the mechanic or vulcanizer. A committee purposely set up to look into such claims would then evaluate whether the request is justified or not. In the case of side streets and secondary roads, the claim must be made to the local council.

Pothole claims 2007-2014*

Mosta - 32
Żabbar - 31
Naxxar - 30
Lija - 30
Qormi - 25
Msida - 26
Birkirkara - 25
San Ġwann - 23
St Paul’s Bay - 21
Marsa - 20

*Data based on PQ 14,841.