Mario Fava, President Local Councils Association

The penalty point system has now been extended to all drivers after previously only being applicable to those who recently obtained their licence for the first time and for their first three years of driving.

Drivers may lose their licence for up to two months if they accumulate 12 penalty points over a period of 12 months. If the licence is revoked twice in the space of three years, drivers must sit for a new test before receiving their licence again. If revoked three times in five years, the driver can only sit for the test after a year of not driving; which increases to a suspension of two years for those whose licence is revoked four times in seven years.

The aim of the penalty point system is to improve the driver’s behaviour in Malta and reduce the number of road fatalities and critical injuries. The way the system has been applied in our country is to attain a balance between the need for this new concept and to increase discipline.  Penalty points systems also operate in other countries and international experiences have demonstrated that such a system has proven successful in reducing road fatalities.

Many countries introduced such a system in 2010 and 2011. Twenty EU member states have a penalty points system. Its popularity is probably the result of people seeing it as fair initiative to have a stricter way of tackling tackle multiple offenders. The preventive effect of a penalty points system lies in the risk of losing your driving licence if you are repeatedly caught committing offences. This is an additional incentive to obey the traffic laws.

Drastic measures are needed if we really want to have safer roads in Malta

There is a difference between the ‘general’ preventive effect and the ‘special’ preventive effect of a penalty points system. The general preventive effect should be found in a decrease in the number of offences for all drivers: they drive more carefully, in order to avoid gaining a penalty point. The special preventive effect should be shown by a decrease in the number of offences by drivers who have already been imposed a penalty point after an earlier offence: they drive more carefully to avoid gaining another point.

The first signs were very positive, as authorities reported a different attitude during the festive season where contraventions were at an all-time low and nearly no accidents were reported.  Having said all this, however, there is still a very long way to go. The government, local authorities and Transport Malta have to work harder and cooperatively on a road safety strategy.

There should be a particular emphasis on public education and awareness programmes, targeting schools, communities and vulnerable road user groups such as cyclists.

There should also be a stronger focus on the road network to ensure that infrastructure plays its part in reducing collisions. Enforcement measures will have a particular emphasis on safety offences like speeding, mobile phone use and driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This is imperative, as this is where the penalty point system should be crucial and hopefully be seen as a deterrent to such offences.

Only a couple of months ago I had a conversation with an enforcement officer where he told me how he had stopped a driver in Paola because she was using her phone while driving. To his surprise, he noticed the same driver, yet again using her phone in Marsa only minutes later.

This clearly shows that drastic measures are needed if we really want to have safer roads in Malta. So yes, I agree entirely with the introduction of this system, as I strongly believe that many more drivers will now act more responsibly when using our roads. Those who were comfortable with getting away with a fine will now have their way of living at stake. Our country is making another leap forward, as discipline is one of the characteristics a modern and democratic country must embrace.

Toni Bezzina, Opposition spokesman for transport and infrastructure

While I believe the penalty points system will have a long-term positive effect on the reduction of road accidents and fatalities, one also needs to work towards greater awareness and respect of the traffic code. Comparisons over a period of time with and analysing the effects of such a system in other European countries so we can base our reasoning on the experience of others, can be an eye-opener.

Spain introduced a penalty points system in 2006 and research carried out by the University of Valencia shows there was a 14.3 per cent reduction in road traffic casualties one year on. In the following year, there was a further 4.9 per cent drop.

A survey carried out on drivers indicated that 40 per cent of them had increased their awareness of road accidents and the point system affected the use of mobile phones while driving and also the speed limits. Motorists became more aware of the fact that their mobility would be affected should they lose their driving licence.

Furthermore, the Automobile Research Institute of the Technical University of Madrid notes that the increase in surveillance measures and fines as well as the significantly growing interest shown by the news media in road safety since the measures were introduced played an important part in this mentality change. The report concludes: “It is, therefore, a combination of three factors: the penalty point system, the gradual stepping up of surveillance measures and sanctions and the publicity given to road safety issues in the mass media would appear to be the key to success.”

The consequences of breaking the traffic code need to be incorporated in our educational system

This indicates that the system alone will not lead to an overall success. Education is key and awareness on a national level needs to be organised. The consequences of breaking the traffic code need to be incorporated in our educational system, in activities managed by Transport Malta and by further engaging with the media and all the stakeholders involved on road use.

Another interesting study I have seen is that of the Institute of Transport Economics of Norway. This was a three-year research on the effects the system had in deterring drivers from accumulating further points within a specific period. The result showed that motorists who had been penalised in the past have a higher probability of incurring new points than those who have never been booked. It thus shows that the offenders not only relapse but also work around the maximum permitted in specific periods to avoid losing their licence. It is here that we mostly need to focus our surveillance and to use the law to prevent this from happening.

There are other issues that are essential in ensuring the system works and that we move towards a safe and better respected traffic code. For instance, we need to provide drivers with quality roads, well maintained and free form unnecessary dangers. Road management needs to be taken seriously. We cannot carry on having a situation where road closures are not controlled, maintenance works are mismanaged and time frames are not kept.

The authorities’ inefficiencies can no longer be the cause of driver stress that is also leading to fatigue on the roads and resulting in breach of the traffic code.

We also need to have confidence that the system is managed well and that rampant corruption, that has become a norm at all levels of any government-led institution, does not let off offenders who are the cause of the breaches such laws are aimed at reducing.

Recent appointments reported by this newspaper are other possible factors that worry me and which make me think that, for instance, the Board of Petitions is not aimed at serving justice but, rather, at delaying it or denying it. I doubt that future studies will consider this factor when analysing the effectiveness of the penalty points system.

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