Videos glorifying reckless driving to be banned under new law

A proposed law aimed at tackling drink-driving on Malta’s roads will make it illegal to upload footage of reckless driving to social media if it normalises or encourages poor road behaviour.

This emerged during a meeting of the parliamentary committee discussing the bill on Monday afternoon.

Police say footage of dangerous driving encourages copycat behaviour. 

“We frequently see videos of people racing on the St Paul’s Bay bypass, comparing their top speed,” Police Superintendent Nicholas Vella told MPs, arguing that such footage on social media often entices others to act in a similarly reckless manner.

Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri had presented the original version of the drink-driving bill earlier this year, after a spate of road deaths in which motorists were found to be under the influence of drink or drugs.

The committee meeting, involving MPs from both sides of the House as well as police officials and lawyers from the state advocate’s office, put each clause in the proposed law to a vote, with MPs proposing amendments to the original bill.

PN MPs Mark Anthony Sammut and Darren Carabott questioned one particular clause in the proposed law, which calls for a €1,200 fine or one-year imprisonment for anyone who produces, distributes or disseminates any material showing people breaking the law.

According to the proposed law, this punishment will be reduced if the person who uploaded the footage testifies in court proceedings and identifies the driver.

Police officials and AG lawyers told the committee that the law as originally proposed did not distinguish between whether footage was uploaded to glorify or condemn bad behaviour. 

They argued that such footage encouraged copycat behaviour irrespective of the uploader's intent, with police also arguing that the clause would encourage people to report illegalities to authorities rather than upload them to social media.

However, Sammut and Carabott argued, the clause as proposed would mean anyone sharing footage of reckless and illegal driving could find themselves facing criminal charges, even if they had uploaded the content to condemn the driver. 

It was also unreasonable to expect someone to identify a reckless driver that they happened to come across or coincidentally catch on a dashcam, the PN MPs said.

They also dismissed the suggestion that sharing footage of illegal activity automatically encourages copycat behaviour.

“So were people sharing footage of the Bondi Bay shooters encouraging criminal activity?” Sammut asked, referring to Sunday’s terrorist attack in Sydney.

Following the debate, the two sides agreed to amend the clause to only apply in cases in which the person sharing the footage is trying to "normalise or diminish the seriousness of dangerous or excessive driving" or encourage others to imitate the behaviour.

However, it will not be illegal for a person to share footage of reckless driving if they are condemning the illegal act.

Speaking after parliament, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri thanked all committee members for their work in refining the draft. 

"I look forward to stricter but fairer laws. People who think they can abuse the law and injure others will have to think twice," he said.