Sunday 09 February 2025

A grim start to the new year

It has been a grim start to this new year. 

We had a horrific car crash on our roads in which the driver died instantly and another traffic accident on the same night in which two pedestrians were hit, one of whom has now succumbed to her injuries

On the other side of the world, the wildfires in Los Angeles have wiped out entire towns and communities; the devastation and sheer amount of loss both in terms of property and human life, have yet to be tallied. With the strong winds and lack of rain spreading the fires with breathtaking speed, the shock  is now turning into anger as residents demand accountability from those in charge. 

It is a familiar feeling, this one of rage and helplessness…we can so relate.  Every day, every week, every month we are the hapless victims of something which has gone awry because those who are supposed to be making the proper decisions keep letting us down with unfailing, depressingly predictable, regularity.

These fatal traffic accidents, which keep claiming so many lives, are an indirect consequence of a country which simply cannot enforce its own laws.   The young man who was driving at a ridiculous speed (we all saw that video) and ended up wrapping his car around a pole, should never have been driving in the first place.  It was reported that just weeks before, he had caused grievous injuries to a 13-year-old girl when he hit her with his car while she was cycling in Mtarfa on a Sunday morning. 

Now there are those who took umbrage at this bit of very significant news coming out shortly after he died, claiming it was not fair to his grieving family.  But, I am sorry…are we saying that newsrooms should bury such information?  I’m afraid sometimes we are too caught up in tiptoeing around the facts for fear of causing offence, when it is crucial that they come to light. After he injured the teenager, his car was impounded by the Police, but it clearly did not stop him from getting behind the wheel of another car, and driving at breakneck speed. Which begs the question, when are we going to see traffic police on the roads 24/7, actively pulling such dangerous drivers over there and then?  

And can we please start calling a spade a spade? Contrary to how accidents are often reported, in many cases it is not the vehicle which is killing or maiming so many people – the car is a machine and it is not in charge; in the majority of the accidents, the onus of responsibility is on the driver.

We are tired of repeating the same old mantra: the public witnesses reckless driving every single day so how is it that the Police or wardens seem to be oblivious? How does a driver who killed a young woman get his high-end sports car back as if nothing had happened? How is it that so many roads are death traps because of negligence such as the skip which was on the road without a permit, causing the death of a motorcyclist last month?  

It is useless typing  “RIP” after every tragedy; it is useless for opinion columns like this one to keep harping on about the same lack of enforcement, if the same thing keeps happening and nothing changes.  Much like the LA wildfires which spread so quickly that it became difficult to contain them, our lawlessness too is so pervasive that containing it will be a mammoth task.  

But a clampdown is vital, because the alternative is complete anarchy – and that possibility is alarmingly close.

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