On the morning of Monday, March 10, I drove from Santa Luċija to Birżebuġa. I took a detour through Ħal Far to avoid, as much as possible, the driving anarchy prevailing on that day. On March 12, I received a notice of contravention for exceeding the speed limit by 9.2 km/h on the Ħal Far road. Fair enough. Speed control promotes safety on the roads even if the speed limit of 60 km/h (37.5 mph) on this particular road is controversial as it is below the maximum speed limit of 40 mph designated for rural areas.

I have been fined €69.88 for a traffic contravention on a day when every traffic rule in the book was broken a thousand times over. On that day a number of unlicensed and uninsured old bangers went around carrying revellers on bonnets and car roofs with complete impunity. All police officers at every major junction closed both eyes. The penalty for driving an unlicensed and uninsured car is about €2,330.

When the law is discriminately applied, even if this is for one day only, it becomes a farce. Injustice is a black comedy.

Some things in Malta will never change.