Thursday 28 March 2024

Our deadly roads

This blog first appeared on Malta Today 

You learn something new every day. Yesterday I learned that “the police were not currently able to carry out such (breathalyser) tests at random.”

That’s not all I learned. Addressing a press conference, director general of the Malta Insurance Association, Adrian Galea also said that the penalty points system, “was currently in effect only for the first three years of driving.”

Oh, and one last thing. …”police were not obliged to conduct inquiries into a motor vehicle accident unless someone was injured.”

Huh?? I had to read this information more than once in order to digest the implications.

So, let me get this straight. Every time I drive I see at least one accident, ranging from minor bumper to bumper skirmishes, to fatal accidents. And yet, here we are being told by the insurance association that the police’s hands are tied because of lacunae in the law and the enforcement system. The country is rife with countless reckless, negligent drivers who put their own lives and that of others at risk every minute of the day but the authorities seem to be unable to clamp down on them because the laws have not been updated quickly enough.

Meanwhile, our roads become more and more like death traps.

The statistics, to date, for this year are grim:

  • 4,331 accidents
  • 11 people killed in roadside accidents
  • 64.5% involved drivers, 273 of whom sustained slight injuries, 46 grievous.
  • 34 persons (nine passengers and 25 pedestrians) suffered grievous injuries.
  • 100 passengers and 40 pedestrians who were slightly injured.

But all these statistics are meaningless if things don’t change. As it stands, venturing out of the house, even on foot, is like a game of Russian roulette. Will that driver slow down as he sees you crossing the road or will he simply put pedal to the metal just to sadistically see you run for safety? Will that car revving its engine impatiently at the traffic lights even wait for the lights to turn green before accelerating with tyres squealing? How many cars will run a red light? I swear sometimes I think drivers get behind the wheel and imagine themselves to be playing a real life version of Grand Theft Auto.

I’m always wondering why it seem to be so hard for the authorities to penalise the culprits, and preferably take away their licence. The answer appears to be in the information provided by the insurance association, namely that what I assumed were deterrents which were already in place, namely breathalyser tests and the points system, are not as all-encompassing as they should be. We have long ago reached the stage where it is clear that the glaring danger posed by driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs over the weekend is one of the leading causes of fatalities. Cars do not just “flip over”, a driver does not simply “lose control”. Being comatose drunk or stoned out of your mind while operating a vehicle is not the ideal combination to get home safely. Your senses are dulled, your reflexes delayed, you think you are invincible, you are not aware of how fast you are actually going – a complete recipe for disaster.

The points system should obviously be there for everyone because many years of driving do not necessarily make you a safer driver; in some cases it might make you even more reckless.

But leaving aside the inadequate laws, there are other more basic (humane) ways of preventing even more casualties. As bartenders keep pouring drink after drink to someone who is clearly inebriated and needs to be practically peeled off the floor, shouldn’t there come a point when they stop serving him, and instead ask how the person is getting home? Shouldn’t friends make sure they don’t let someone who is completely plastered from getting behind the wheel of a car? And shouldn’t they flatly refuse to get into a car being driven by someone who definitely should not be driving? There can be nothing more tragic for those who have been severely injured or who have caused injuries or death to others because they took the wrong decision on one fateful night, to play back those scenes time and again in their mind, thinking, “I should never have got into that car”.

As for the fact that no inquiry into an accident is carried out if no one is injured, this too is short-sighted. If the person happened to be drunk or using his mobile at the time, and simply had a very lucky escape, shouldn’t the police ensure that there is some kind of consequence?
Who is to say that the driver won’t make the same mistake again which might result in him killing someone?

I think we have more than enough commemorative plaques in the memory of accident victims on our deadly roads, we hardly need any more.

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