Counting the cost of traffic accidents

Last year we decided to make November 14 'Traffic Victims Day' in Gozo, to remember those who have either perished or been maimed on our ever busier roads.

At the time I had reiterated my warning to drivers to ensure they exercise continuous skill and prudence in order to avoid every action or omission which may endanger their own life or that of another.

It is a pity that notwithstanding so many appeals from different quarters, hundreds of people continue to die or are maimed for life on our roads. Quantified in terms of human life and property, the loss is immense and in many cases irreparable. What can be done to ease this problem, if not eradicate it completely? What are the causes which are at the root of such havoc?

Reckless driving is prohibited by the fifth Commandment, because it is not lawful to expose oneself or others to the probable (certain) risk of death, unless there is a justifiable reason to face that risk. So it is permissible, and even commendable, for a nurse to care for those with contagious disease, even if after taking the necessary precautions, one cannot rule out altogether the danger of infection and resulting death. But it is never ethically correct to behave in such a way as to create dangerous situations for oneself or for others just for the sake of bragging or showing off.

The main responsibility for road accidents obviously falls on the shoulders of drivers. Used correctly, a car is an indispensable tool that enriches our existence. Used incorrectly, it can easily be transformed into a merciless killing machine which ruins the lives of families forever.

No one likes to point fingers at young drivers, but it is an incontestable fact that they are responsible for more accidents than their older counterparts. The reservations publicly expressed recently by one of the leading insurance agencies over granting cover to drivers under 21 is ample proof of this.

Inflating the prices of their insurance policies would be to treat the effect rather than the cause of the problem. The first step must surely be to raise the standard of driving tests, drastically improve education campaigns and then look into ways of limiting the types of vehicle that inexperienced drivers are permitted to drive. I am not saying that such measures would eradicate accidents, but they seem to make more sense than the present state of affairs.

There are still too many people who continue to drive old vehicles that are no longer roadworthy. These vehicles are not only dangerous, but are also an unwelcome source of pollution in a country that already has enough problems in this area.

However, drivers are not the only ones who are responsible for accidents. There are others involved who should be accountable for such sad happenings, such as pedestrians who are not wary enough when they cross the road. This is especially true in the case of the elderly and small children. Some people even seem to have phobia or a morbid compulsion never to tread over the zebra crossing or use an underground subway.

The deplorable state of road surfaces is another common cause of traffic accidents. The public authorities commit a serious sin of omission when they turn a blind eye to these dangers and do not lift a finger to find a remedy for this.

One only has to take a cursory look to see well-known stretches of road that are described as blind corners or slippery, where more than one victim has met the same fate. And yet all appeals and protests about these areas have been in vain.

The day of remembrance for traffic accident victims is not just intended to be an occasion of prayer for the repose of their souls, if theirs was a fatal accident, and to console their relatives, but it should also be an eye-opener for one and all to be more cautious and fulfil their duty to make driving and the use of our roads much safer than they are at the moment.

Is this really too much to ask?