A daredevil driver whose dangerous manoeuvre caused a collision three years ago, has landed a fine and a seven-day driving ban besides prompting a call by the Court for the introduction of road safety measures at the Siġġiewi bypass.
This warning was issued in criminal proceedings against Robert Galea, a 38-year old Siġġiewi resident, whose reckless driving one afternoon back in April 2016 had caused another motorist to crash into a tree.
The accident had taken place along Triq Mons Mikiel Azzopardi, Siġġiewi, a stretch of road which motorists regularly used as a ‘race track’ at the expense of residents and innocent passers-by, the Court observed.
On that particular afternoon, the accused, at the wheel of a blue Subaru Impreza, had overtaken four vehicles, crossing over to the opposite lane, heedless of oncoming traffic.
A couple in a car driving in the opposite direction had a narrow miss when the driver was forced to swerve suddenly to avoid a direct impact with the Subaru Impreza, which drove on while the other driver and his female passenger ended up crashing into a tree by the roadside.
A van driver who had witnessed the whole accident later recounted how he had been overtaken by a blue vehicle which had driven past at high speed, “sounding like a racing car,” also overtaking three other vehicles before ending up in the path of oncoming traffic.
There was no doubt that it had been the accused who had caused the accident
The driver who crashed his car had identified the colour and make of the other car, though not its registration number. Nor could its driver be identified on account of the Subaru Impreza’s tinted windows.
However, the suspect was eventually tracked down and was prosecuted for his allegedly reckless driving and a series of other offences related to the accident, his defence counsel claiming that the identity of the culprit had not been confirmed and that the blue Subaru Impreza was not the only one of its kind on local roads.
Yet, on the basis of the testimonies and a host of circumstantial evidence, the Court, presided over by magistrate Joseph Mifsud, concluded that there was no doubt that it had been the accused who had caused the accident.
The Court declared the motorist guilty of negligent and reckless driving, failing to exercise due care and attention, crossing continuous white lines and damaging third party property, fining him €200 and imposing a seven-day driving ban.
Furthermore, the Court called upon the relevant authorities for the immediate implementation of “speed calming measures” at the particular stretch of road to curb abuse, suggesting mobile speed cameras to catch drivers unawares.
In a decree delivered in conjunction with this judgment, the Court pointed out that the speed camera at Triq Mons Mikiel Azzopardi was proving ineffective and that other steps needed to be taken to curb abuse by those drivers who presented “a constant peril to those who lived there or happened to be passing by,” ordering that its decree be communicated to the Siġġiewi Local Council, Transport Malta and the Police Commissioner.