Enforcement officers could be posted along the Coast Road as soon as this weekend to ensure motorists stick to the speed limit and avoid dangerous driving, a Transport Malta spokesman said.

The move comes after the deaths of two motorcyclists along that stretch of road barely a day apart, with the Transport Malta team complementing the work already done by the police.

Malta Road Safety Council representative Pierre Vella told the Times of Malta accidents could be reduced in fairly obvious ways, like reducing speed and dangerous manoeuvres. However, there were certain obvious aspects of riding a motorcycle, such as the driver’s vulnerability in the case of an accident, that could also be tackled.

“There are six enforcement officers and all of them wear inflatable jackets, which act like an air bag, protecting them if they are flung off the motorbike for any reason,” he said.

Mr Vella said photographers waited at strategic spots along the stretch of road to take shots of bikers passing by, which pictures were then available for sale. The practice, he noted, could unfortunately encourage bikers to “show off” for the cameras.

There were 15,245 traffic accidents in 2016, the last full year for which statistics are available. Of these, 1,853 resulted in injuries, but while motorcycles only represent 6.6 per cent of all the vehicles on the road, they were involved in 20 per cent of the accidents resulting in injuries.