The fine for driving while using a mobile phone is to double to €200, as will the penalty points deduction.

Drivers who are caught using a phone while on the road will have anything between six and nine penalty points deducted from their licence - meaning those caught doing so twice within 12 months will temporarily lose their licence.  

For bus and taxi drivers, as well as anyone else carrying passengers as part of their job, the fine will be even steeper, at €300.

Those same penalties will also apply to any drivers caught with earphones or headphones on both ears while in traffic. Having an earphone in the left ear - the one not facing a vehicle's window - will be permitted, as is currently the case.

The contravention for driving through a red light will also double to €200, as part of a government plan to increase road safety, announced on Friday.

Fines for driving on the wrong side of a one-way street will increase to €75 while those for excessive speeding are rising to €100. 

Penalty points for using headphones while driving have also been revised, with motorists docked anything between six and nine points if they are caught doing so. 

The new contraventions will be introduced through a legal notice in the coming weeks.

According to local laws, drivers who accumulate 12 points or more during a 12-month period will have their driving licence revoked. Drivers with 11 points or fewer can sit for a traffic awareness test to have the number of points on their licence halved. 

Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia said the stricter penalties complement a road safety plan which will include a strengthened Road Safety Council and a new investigative agency on road accidents.

“Enforcement is the key to a comprehensive plan on Road Safety,” Farrugia said.

The minister also inaugurated a number of new motorcycles to be used by Transport Malta enforcement officers. 

Transport Malta land chief officer Pierre Montebello said that while road deaths have reduced by 36%  in the EU since when compared to 2010, they have increased in Malta. 

“2022 saw a record of road death, 26,” he said.  “This in spite of advances in infrastructure,” he said.

Montebello said that overspeeding, distraction and drunk/drug driving are the three factors that most lead to accidents. The revised contraventions look to discourage these actions, he said.

[attach id="1280013" size="large" align="left" type="image"]Photo: Matthew Mirabelli[/attach]

The increase in fines

Those driving larger vehicles carrying materials face tougher penalties because of the increased risk they pose. Driving a vehicle carrying iron rods or nets which are not properly secured has increased from €116.47 to €200.

Aaron Farrugia announces the revised fines. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Overloading, spillage, or not using a tailboard will cost a motorist anything between €250 and €500. The penalty is currently €46.69.

Cab drivers who drive a vehicle not registered for that service will pay €200 if caught, up from €34.94.

Patrick Pollacco, Transport Malta enforcement director, said the section has ramped up its effort to create safer streets.

24,500 fines were issued in 2022, and 607 cars were confiscated for not having the correct registration. 

New laws allowing Transport Malta to enforce e-scooter contraventions led to 160 scooters being confiscated for not conforming to the law, he said. 

Enforcement officers have also been given more training, in-house, at the University of Malta, and abroad, he said. 

Enforcement officers control traffic. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Transport Malta CEO Jeffrey Curmi said that enforcement is a pillar in Road safety, together with education and road design. 

He appealed to the general public to drive with discipline and especially respect for motorcycle drivers. 

“Every motorbike is one less, car,” he said. If driving a motorcycle is safer more would be incentivised to drive them, he said. 

Correction February 3, 2023: A previous version stated that the new fines will be presented to parliament, rather than published through a legal notice.