The busy construction industry and the density of traffic on Malta’s roads make left-hand drive vehicles an added danger, according to the Road Safety Council executive chairman.
Pierre Vella says Malta’s roads are already busy, with more large trucks around due to the busier construction industry. But the fact that a lot the trucks are left-hand drive is making the roads even more dangerous.
“Any left-hand drive vehicle, whether commercial or not, is dangerous due to the higher number of blind spots, and this is adding to the danger,” he said.
Mr Vella was contacted following an appeal made by the parents of a motorcyclist crushed by a left-hand drive truck in January 2016.
Motorcyclist Johanna Boni was run over by a cement mixer in Labour Avenue, Naxxar, at about 8am on January 5, 2016. The 27-year-old was riding her Kawasaki ER6N to work on that fateful morning.
“I think trucks must be subjected to stricter checks. Trucks must not be loaded more than a certain amount. Left-hand drive trucks must disappear... those which come from abroad must have a co-driver because the blind spot is too dangerous. This is my biggest worry. They are killers on our roads,” Josephine Boni, Johanna Boni’s mother, said.
Mr Vella said that following this case, the council had discussed the imposition of stricter rules but these never saw the light of day. “We discussed them internally as a council but never pursued them,” Mr Vella admitted.
One of the aspects they had discussed was the introduction of a co-driver. “We had suggested a co-driver who would be scouting the proper right-hand side of the truck. In other countries, such as the UK, this is already the norm,” he said.
Mr Vella said they also discussed the possibility of having a larger number of external mirrors on the right-hand side which would, to a certain extent, make good for the lack of visibility.
He said he believed that left-hand drive vehicles needed to be properly identified as such and the council had discussed the possibility of proper signage, with a big LHD on the back of the vehicle as well as on the right-hand side, so as to warn drivers of the possible dangers and blind spots.
The VRT test does not differentiate between right- or left-hand drive trucks. Neither do Transport Malta’s statistics make any distinction, with sources close to the transport watchdog saying that there were no statistics on the number of LHD trucks currently registered to drive on Malta’s roads.
According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in the UK, in 2011, 18 people were killed, 47 seriously injured and 720 slightly injured in road accidents involving foreign-registered left-hand drive heavy goods vehicles.
Its research indicated that left-hand drive vehicles are 3.4 times more likely to be involved in crashes than right-hand drive vehicles. They suggested better mirrors that reduce the driver’s blind spot to be fitted and were behind schemes to supply free Fresnel lenses to drivers as they enter the country.
The EU is also discussing a new regulation of trucks to replace the bottom panels of the driver’s and passenger’s door with glass so as to see any cyclists or motorcyclists.
The third Joanna Boni memorial ride was held today.