The delay in setting up a road safety bureau, proposed by the government in 2022 amid a record number of fatal accidents, has been put down to the judiciary’s hesitancy to share the contents of magisterial inquiries.
Sources said the judiciary’s concern is over maintaining the confidentiality of investigations and the privacy of those involved.
It is understood that the government and the judiciary are working towards a compromise on this issue.
The news comes after three people died in separate road accidents last Tuesday.
Malta recorded its deadliest year for road fatalities in 2022, with 26 people losing their lives amid calls for more action to be taken to improve road safety.
Sixteen people died last year, while three fatalities last Tuesday have raised the death toll to nine so far in 2024.
The government first announced plans to establish a road investigation bureau in December 2022 as part of a wider reform to consolidate air, sea, and road safety investigations under one Transport Safety Investigation Commission.
The transport ministry, then under Aaron Farrugia, set a deadline to establish the commission by December 2023. There is still no sign of the commission.
If established, the road safety bureau would not apportion blame but would help identify any shortcomings, issues and patterns with a view to amending safety policy.
It would do that by tapping into the information gathered by magisterial inquiries, according to the white paper which proposed the commission.
“It is being proposed that a bureau will be set up such that it may have access to this information, thereby avoiding duplication of efforts in order to analyse the data gathered during such inquiries in terms of road safety,” the consultation document said.
The bureau could publish its recommendations upon completing a safety investigation.
Currently, magisterial inquiries and police investigations are the only methods of investigating road accidents in Malta.
These inquiries determine civil or criminal liabilities, and their conclusions generally remain confidential.
When asked about the progress towards setting up a bureau last year, a spokesperson for the transport ministry had said that the legal details were still being finalised before being presented to the cabinet and parliament.
“The work at this delicate stage involves refining the legislation to ensure that the safety investigation process does not compromise magisterial inquiries, and vice versa. This process (and related consultations with involved parties) is expected to extend beyond December 2023,” the spokesperson had said at the time.