23 crashes, 10 breakdowns and two spillages: Tuesday sees extra bad traffic
It remains unclear whether the traffic jams were linked to the high number of accidents.
Traffic congestion and gridlocks were particularly bad on Tuesday, a day that also registered an abnormally high number of accidents.
Motorists reported spending more than double the usual time on their commutes on Tuesday, and many took to social media to express frustration, complaining about standstill traffic that stretched even onto non-arterial roads.
In a Facebook post, Transport Malta said there were 23 collisions, 10 vehicle breakdowns and two separate spillages across the island on Tuesday. It said calls for assistance were more numerous than other days, and its officers were much busier trying to solve the gridlocks.
And those are just the cases Transport Malta assisted in, and do not include accidents that were reported to LESA.
However, it is unclear whether the traffic jams were linked to the high number of accidents.
Transport Malta constantly monitors the roads using scores of cameras scattered around the island, and it employs officers on foot, motorbikes and in cars to patrol and clear the roads whenever accidents occur.
To ensure roads are cleared as quickly as possible, officers - and sometimes whole units - are immediately deployed to the scene of a crash or breakdown, or when heavy vehicles spill hazardous fluids, materials, or chemicals.
Traffic frustration
On Tuesday, several motorists on social media said a journey from Sliema to Marsa took up to 1.5 hours, the short hop from Ta' Xbiex to Msida was an hour-long ordeal, the route from San Ġwann to Msida lasted 45 minutes, and drivers travelling from the Three Cities to Attard spent 1.5 hours stuck in traffic.
Key hotspots throughout the day included the St. Paul’s Bay bypass, with heavy congestion along the Coast Road and in St Julian's.
Furthermore, traffic was especially bad in Paola, Marsa's Aldo Moro Road, the Marsa/Ħamrun bypass and Regional Road.
Major traffic was also reported on most roads leading in and out of the Gżira, Ta’ Xbiex, and Msida area, with vehicles barely moving.
Parliament drama
The day's traffic woes even spilled into an impromptu banter session in parliament later that day between Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition Leader Alex Borg.
The drama began when government whip Naomi Cachia accused the opposition of raising a procedural issue simply to buy time for Borg to arrive, as he was running late.
Borg eventually arrived mid-way through Abela’s speech. When he took the floor, he told the Prime Minister he was delayed because, unlike Abela, he was stuck in traffic as he doesn't have an escort.
Abela quickly hit back, telling Borg he "better had his licence and insurance paid". This was a reference to a recent incident involving Borg's partner, Sarah Bajada, who was caught driving without a valid vehicle licence and insurance.