I would like to thank Gordon Caruana Dingli for bringing the dangerous driving on our roads to the fore (‘Carnage on our Roads’, November 26). Every day, on our roads, people are killed, injured, maimed, rendered dependants for life, and utterly distressed due to bad and reckless driving bordering on the criminal. 

This is really an anachronism given our generally socially positive national character.

A number of initiatives are urgently re-quired to put a stop to the atrocious driving of the minority among us.

I am not a traffic expert but I have driven cars in many countries and for many years. I write this sadly, because it is my country. I find Malta to be one of the worst inthis respect.

First, there should be very strict speed limits in our core town and village streets especially considering how narrow, quirky and undulating our pavements and streets are.  Anything over 20mph is excessive.  

Second, speeding fines should be more severe and strictly enforced. These should be tied to insurance premiums and the temporary suspension of the driving licence of dangerous drivers. I find street and road monitoring severely lacking.

Third, front and back cams should be installed in all cars over a period of a couple of years. The law should be changed so that if a driver submits to the authorities a cam recording showing another car being driven recklessly, action is taken without the reporting driver having to go to the tribunal or court to give evidence. 

Cams will also do away with a lot of the bickering and outright lies which take place after accidents. This newspaper does a world of good by publicising, every now and then, reckless drivers caught on video capriciously endangering lives.

Fourth, our streets should be well-marked, especially the traffic lanes, and with full signage. 

In recent years we have progressed much in this regard. But then barely visible red metal sticks in the middle of roads are a hazard, especially when the white band disappears or is covered by mud and dirt.

Speeding fines should be more severe and strictly enforced

Roundabouts should be smaller and provide full visibility across so that going around them is on a first-come-first-round basis, not on the basis of who reaches it first, and then full speed ahead.

Where roundabouts are unsuitable because of heavy and complicated traffic, use traffic lights.

Fifth, speed bumps should be effective, not just covering the middle of the road, and high enough to actually slow traffic. 

They should be strategically placed, especially in the wider and straighter residential roads that attract speeding drivers like unruly bees to poisoned honey.

Sixth, the streets should be monitored by cameras to record careless driving, thieves on the prowl, drug peddling, etc. A special telephone number should be set up to report anonymously such occurrences and the recording accessed immediately and action taken by the police or wardens. 

We no longer live in towns and villages which were as safe as they used to, when most of us left even the antiporta unlocked.

Seventh, drivers should be trained much better and a culture of safety should be instilled in them.

Foreigners driving for more than six months ought to take the test unless they have a European driving licence.

Eighth, car hire firms, especially commercial ones, should be able to know who is driving the vehicle, which they leased out at any one time, and whoever is hiring a commercial vehicle should provide the hiring firm a list of drivers authorised to drive it.

Heavy commercial vans and trucks, especially hired ones, several tons of speeding metal, are often being driven by casual foreign and local workers in quite a bad way. I have noticed this often on our roads, and one such driver nearly killed me. 

Quite obviously, trucks should have their load covered securely and well, now a rare occurrence, as anyone who has had to drive in a wake of dust knows too well.

Ninth, we need a massive publicity campaign, similar to the non-smoking campaign so well-organised in years past by the Health Department, in favour of safe driving. 

When we are young (under 30) we are prone to take risks and love speed and unfortunately this age group is very prone to atrocious and contumacious bad driving. 

Recently, at a crossroads, I looked four ways, all was clear, I crossed the street, and this 30-year-old guy nearly ran me over: where did he come from?

Paul Azzopardi is a financial adviser and author.

This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece