During the first four months of 2023, police conducted over 425 road checks. One such check finished some 30 minutes before Kacey Sciberras, 17, was killed in a car crash on the same road. Since then, road safety has been thrown into the spotlight. Daniel Tihn joined officers during one of their routine road checks.

At 10pm on a Friday evening in May, officers began filing into Inspector Jonathan Ransley’s office at the Sliema police station for their pre-briefing.

Out of the 13 officers present, most belonged to the Sliema district while officers from the Rapid Intervention Unit and K-9 Unit were also present for the evening’s stops. 

During the briefing, Ransley explained how the operation would be carried out which, for that evening, would see officers park on Triq D’Argens for several hours as they checked out erratic drivers, possible cases of prostitution and all other contraventions.

The evening’s procedure was to create what Ransley described as “a slalom course”. 

By parking three police cars on alternating sides of the road, traffic would be forced to slow down to weave between them, giving officers the opportunity to stop cars when needed, he said.

On the side of the street, a detention van waited for any belligerent or aggressive drivers who may not be willing to comply.

The monitoring starts. 

“Where are you going tonight, my friend,” Ransley asked calmly but firmly shortly after the roadblock began at around 10.45pm. The driver had caught the officer’s attention and once the inspector caught a whiff of alcohol coming from inside the car, he asked the driver to pull to the side.

In the car, a cup with what officers believed to be whiskey and an empty upside-down mini champagne bottle sat in a central cupholder.

Ransley explained that for officers to search a car and conduct a breathalyser test, there must be reasonable suspicion that the driver is currently under some form of influence.

“That means some type of alcohol in the car, or the smell of alcohol, or an unpaid licence or a different licence plate.”

Between 2018 and 2022, a total of 2,129 breathalyser tests were carried out by police, while the past five years have seen 18,829 citations handed out by police for mobile phone usage while driving.

Asked by officers to exit the vehicle, the driver got out of the car while a front-seat passenger had to be helped out of the vehicle, holding onto their car door and stumbling onto the pavement.

There, officers took them to the side and began to calmly explain the procedure.

“Sir, you have to understand it is illegal to drive drunk,” an officer told the driver who denied he had been drinking. After officers read the driver his rights, they told him they would like to conduct a breathalyser test.

Meanwhile, K-9 officers geared up to search the driver’s car, making sure the passenger was present to watch it all happen.

“We always make sure someone from the car is present when it is searched,” police spokesperson Brandon Pisani said, as it ensures that the search is witnessed, and nothing is planted within the car during the procedure.

The driver, after blowing into the breathalyser, was found to be over three times the legal alcohol limit of 22 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath. 

Police handed the driver a citation which they explained would then be handled by LESA, and asked them to phone a friend to move the car. If they cannot find someone to take their car and it cannot be left there, it ends up being towed, Pisani said.

Are they effective?

Asked about the effectiveness of such stops, the inspector explained that roadblocks tend to reach a point of diminishing returns after only half an hour as drivers begin to notify each other via apps and Facebook pages about the stop.

“In an hour-long road check, we caught three or four [drunk drivers], but we often do two- to three-hour checks and catch nobody,” he explained.

Drivers often carry out a U-turn once they see the long line of cars and flashing blue lights, he said, but that does not necessarily mean they have something to hide. 

For example, many might be trying to avoid the traffic or simply feel anxious about the situation, choosing to take another route.

To find out if they are avoiding the roadblock in order to hide from authorities, officers note the car’s number plate and run it through their system to check for prior contraventions or convictions.

If a driver’s history is seen to be clean, there is no reasonable suspicion to think that they are inebriated or breaking the law, Ransley explained. But if they have a history, officers could be sent to their home address to check in on them.

“We know where they are going, so we will meet them there,” the inspector said.

“When they are active, road checks are a deterrent,” Ransley continued, but emphasised that the responsibility falls on the driver to not endanger others.

“People have to remember that a car is a weapon. The faster you go, the more lethal it is.”

For the rest of the night, only one more breathalyser test was carried out on a suspected drunk driver who was also hesitant to blow into the plastic tube, but not for the same reasons.

Almost immediately after exiting the car, the driver turned to the officers and told them that he had indeed been drinking and there was no need to conduct a breathalyser test. 

Yet, officers still complied to protocol and brought out a fresh tube and the breathalyser kit. On hand, officers had a single breathalyser with multiple disposable tubes to be used on different drivers.

After conducting the test and finding he was over the legal limit by around 14 micrograms, the driver was shocked at how low his level was.

“I’m honestly surprised it’s not higher,” he said. 

Next to him, a sniffer dog watched the car attentively. Its attending officer explained that while the dog can smell cannabis in the car, it was not able to pinpoint an exact location.

“They could have smoked in the car earlier,” the officer explained, which would have left traces of the smell but not the source. That theory was later strengthened once the driver admitted that he smokes every day.

The driver was handed a citation and started to find someone to take care of his car.

During every search and every interaction, officers remained polite but firm, guiding drivers through the process as they searched cars and perused documents.

Yet, while procedural, officers carried a sense of community among them as they went through the evening.

“Are these yours,” one officer asked a male driver whose car was being searched. The officer was referring to some women’s clothing strewn across the backseat.

“They belong to a friend,” the driver said with a smile to amused officers. Once the search finished, the driver was given the all-clear to continue with his evening plans.

Insurance worries

Malta Insurance Association (MIA) director general Adrian Galea opened up about his concerns when it comes to Malta’s road safety.

Responding to road check statistics, Galea emphasised how misleading the numbers can be as many roadblocks can be conducted in a single month while the next see barely any.

“If we are to quote figures then it would be useful to quote data with a higher degree of granularity,” he said, pointing to figures such as the number of checks in a month, the number of cars stopped and the time that road checks are generally conducted at.

During the documented road check, Pisani explained they are not conducted at specific times but can vary depending on the place and the intention of the check, meaning that there is no specific average time.

Galea also commented on the 2,129 breathalyser tests administered between 2018 and 2022, citing studies by the MIA which have shown that only three per cent of incidents that result in injuries are tested for alcohol.

“This is why we recommend changes in the law which clearly spell out the circumstances where such tests, including drug tests, are conducted,” he said.

Accidents with injuries, fatalities and/or when a police presence is required are good examples of when breathalyser tests should always be carried out, he said.