Editorial: Driving like this is no accident

A vehicle used inappropriately is a lethal weapon. It is like firing a loaded gun in a crowded room. Somebody is likely to get hurt or worse.

Society knows it. So should investigators, prosecutors and the judiciary. And the decision makers, notably the politicians, refuse to be tough for fear of losing votes.

However, that frame of mind must change. Road safety needs urgent attention and not only because so many lives and limbs are being lost.

Just like the absence of war does not in itself necessarily imply peace – as the world is witnessing for itself – a drop in accidents is no guarantee of safe roads. Let alone when stark reality, in the form of blood-stained roads, stare you straight in the face.

When a road safety strategy, pledging to cut fatalities by half, was launched more than a decade ago, the authorities said that Malta’s roads were already safe when compared to other European countries, adding they could and should get better.

The numbers aren’t “better” because our roads are safer or our driving culture is more responsible. They appear lower mainly because journeys in Malta’s roads are short.

With a country just 27 kilometres long, the sheer exposure to risk per trip is reduced. In other words, it’s not that our roads are intrinsically safe, but rather that our commutes are brief.

One need not be a road safety expert to realise that what is happening is the result of inadequate laws, lenient punishment, ill-trained drivers, badly designed roads, lack of discipline and poor enforcement.

The 2014 strategy had promised a series of “strategic actions” throughout, including enforcement, road engineering and education.

The “quantum leap”, so desired by the Doctors for Road Safety, remains a distant target. Accident rates – including of a very serious nature – are rising, as is public concern, not to mention the economic costs.

As the population gets bigger and the economy remains strong, the number of vehicles on the road will keep growing. And that will, of course, increase the incidence of road accidents and a concomitant public outcry to take robust action on the ground.

What needs to be done must address several fronts: safer road design, effective traffic-calming measures, dedicated lanes for cyclists and pedestrians, and, above all, a basic respect for driving etiquette, especially now that our roads are shared with hundreds of motorbikes.

Then there is the crucial legislation and enforcement issue, which, let’s face it, is the government’s Achilles heel.

Speed cameras may curb speeding in their immediate vicinity, but it’s an open secret that many drivers simply slow down when approaching them, only to hit the accelerator again once they’ve passed. Meanwhile, reckless driving – cars weaving between lanes, and failing to indicate –  remains a constant sight at all hours of the day. We are talking of breaking basics in the highway code.

So many calls have been made to amend drink and drug driving laws to ensure testing becomes at random rather than when there is reasonable suspicion of abuse.

Education and public campaigns are important. As is a thorough revision of driving test procedures. And, of course, tougher penalties when negligent driving, defined in the widest possible meaning, have now become a necessity.

An urgent, comprehensive review of all relevant laws and practises, not stop-gap solutions, is required if using the road is not to continue being a hellish experience.