Maltese roads rank as the second worst in the whole EU, according to a European Commission survey which measured performance in key transport sectors.

Still, the island continued to have the safest roads among the member states.

The 2016 transport scoreboard was based on a number of indicators in four major areas, including investment and infrastructure, emission levels, innovation and safety and affordable transport.

Malta was ranked 17th overall, with the Netherlands placing first and Romania last.

In its measurement of road quality, the study took into account the reviews submitted by respondents who took part in a World Economic Forum survey using a scale from one (extremely underdeveloped) to seven (extensive and efficient).

Malta scored second lowest at 3.19, with Romania being the only country faring worse with 2.6. The Netherlands topped the list at 6.14, and the EU average stood at 4.77.

The figures indicate that the situation in Malta has kept deteriorating for at least two years. In 2014, it ranked 24th.

According to the transport scoreboard, Malta’s performance for the length of major arterial roads (the Ten-T network) that have been completed, including planned sections and sections to be upgraded, was below the EU average, at 55 per cent.

Another indicator, comparing the timeliness of shipments to reach their destination, registered an improvement but was still below average.

Still, the island continued to have the safest roads

Port and air infrastructure both got positive reviews. In the energy union and innovation sector, the share of renewable energy in transport fuels in Malta was growing. It resulted that the island had quite a large number of charging points for electric vehicles compared to other countries.

However, the sale of new cars using renewable energy was next to nothing at 0.04 per cent – second from last ahead of Cyprus.

Private investment in research and development for transport was also far below average.

In the case of road safety, it was a different story. Malta maintained the top spot, logging 26 fatalities per million inhabitants, which is half the EU average. However, the study notes that, due to the island’s small population size, the figure tends to fluctuate from year to year.

The share of women employed in the transport sector was below the average, at 18 per cent.

Though consumers were very happy with air transport in Malta, in the urban transport satisfaction indicator, Malta placed second from the bottom.

The study also compared the total number of hours motorists spent in traffic over an entire year. This worked out to be an average of 29.5 hours. However, no specific figure was given for Malta, with the survey saying such data was “not applicable”.

At the end of July, Malta had a very low number of pending court cases concerning alleged infringements of EU transport law. Also, 99 per cent of EU transport directives had been transposed into national law.

The study shows the employment share in high-growth transport enterprises, which grew from four per cent in 2012 to 11 per cent in 2014, was an indication of a lively transport sector.

Last July, Times of Malta asked readers to nominate what they considered to be the worst roads in Malta.