New speed limits set 'to ensure safety'

The new speed cameras soon to be installed on eight major roads, imposing a speed limit of just 60 kilometres per hour, will "ensure the safety of the driver, passengers, pedestrians and all other road users", the Malta Transport Authority said.

Many drivers see the cameras as a mere revenue generator but the authority defended its decision to lower the speed limit on these roads, even when the country's Highway Code establishes the national speed limit on main roads at 80 km/hr and 50 km/hr in inhabited areas.

A spokesman said the Highway Code is just "an advisory guidance booklet for motorists, not the law". Legally binding speed limits are determined by the signs set up on the road, set according to the specific safety requirements of that particular road.

Two of the new cameras will be positioned on the Birkirkara Bypass, one of them next to Klikk Computers and another near the roundabout leading to Birkirkara. The two exits of the Sta Venera tunnels will each have a camera and another two will be placed on Mdina Road, Qormi, one next to Shopwise and the other next to Kia Motors. One camera will be installed in either direction on Tal-Barrani Road in Żejtun.

An ADT spokesman told The Times that the authority had given the green light for the installation of these speed cameras after receiving applications from the joint committees of the respective localities, and after studies had been completed.

The speed limit is based on what is known as the "85th percentile speed" of free-flowing traffic. This means the limit is set at a level at or under which 85 per cent of people are driving. Those driving at the fastest and slowest speeds, 15 per cent in all, are not sampled.

Numerous studies have shown that the 85th percentile is the safest possible level at which to set a speed limit.

For example, if speeds of 100 vehicles are measured and 85 vehicles are travelling at an average of 47 km/hr, the speed limit for the street would be set at 45 km/hr.

All the speed limits for the new cameras have been set at 60 km/hr although the 85th percentile speed limit for most of them was higher than that.

The ADT spokesman said specific factors such as visibility, sudden changes in light, junctions and traffic merging were also taken into account.

On the speed limit for the Sta Venera tunnels, the spokesman said there were issues such as sudden changes in light conditions when driving in and out of the tunnel and also sudden changes in the environment during rain or wind that require quicker reactions from the driver.

On the Birkirkara Bypass, the distances between the existing junctions and pelican crossings are relatively short. These differences have a determining role in the establishment of the speed limits.

"A speed limit is imposed to ensure the safety of the driver, his or her passengers, pedestrians and all other road users. Drivers may feel confident enough to consider themselves secure at higher speeds. Malta's roads have experienced a growing rate of accidents that are, in their great bulk, preventable with reduced speeds.

"Though speed cameras are perceived as 'cash traps', the simple fact remains that speed cameras do not collect fines from anyone who is not over-speeding.

"Simply increasing the speed limit beyond what is safe for a particular section of a road may save speeding drivers money but it also removes the deterrent from speeding and encourages accidents," the spokesman said.