The frequent power outages and the occasional dim-witted road incident have amply demonstrated the need to implement a quick fix to major traffic hubs on the island. The Marsa Addolorata intersection and the Msida roundabout come to mind. Here is a freebee, though I find it difficult to perceive that this idea has not been thought up by technical staff at Transport Malta.

Major traffic light dependent intersections should immediately be converted to LED lights and a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) installed with a capacity to power the lights for at least 24 hours independently of the grid power supply. If mayhem is to be avoided in the case of another bright spark causing havoc by blocking a main road artery, variable message signs should be placed far enough from feeder roads to allow drivers (at least literate ones) to divert around a road obstruction well before they find themselves in a traffic jam.

There, if this idea had been thought up already at TM, there is no need to keep it locked up anymore just so that traffic congestion can be kept at a high enough level to keep blaming personal transport as the cause of all the ills on our roads and in our air!