A bureau to investigate road accidents, that was to start operating in December, will not be up and running by the end of the year.

The body was one of several measures announced last year as Malta saw a record number of deaths on the roads.

A government document on safer transport had envisaged all necessary legal changes would be presented to parliament by the end of July this year, “with the aim of the changes coming into force by the end of December 2023”.

However, the transport ministry told Times of Malta that legal details are still being ironed out before they go to cabinet and parliament.

“The work carried out at this delicate stage is on the finer details of the legislation to ensure that the safety investigation process does not compromise the magisterial inquiry and vice versa. This work (and related consultation with the parties involved) is expected to extend beyond December,” the spokesperson said.

Last year, 26 people died on Malta’s roads.

The numbers are much lower this year, with 11 road fatalities and 641 injuries in traffic accidents up until the end of October, according to the police.

Plans to set up the Transport Safety Investigation Commission were among the government’s planned measures to make Maltese roads safer. These included the upping of fines and penalty points for dangerous driving – that were increased in May – and the setting up of the commission.

Air and sea accidents are already investigated by the Bureau of Air Accident Investigation and the Marine Safety Investigation Unit, with both bodies issuing publicly available reports following noteworthy incidents.

However, road accident investigations are limited to magisterial inquiries, which are kept secret and merely seek to assign blame.

The Transport Safety Investigation Commission, functionally independent from the transport ministry, will incorporate the existing aviation and maritime investigative bodies and include a new third bureau tasked with investigating road fatalities. The road safety bureau will not apportion blame but will help identify any shortcomings, issues and patterns to amend road safety policy. The spokesperson said the plan is for the commission to have three satellite bureaux, each headed by a chief safety investigator.

It is expected that the three bureaux will be able to commence their safety investigations as soon as the commission is established.

“Similar to the aviation and maritime safety investigations, road safety investigations necessitate the application of safety science principles and engineering to determine the accidental and contributing factors... All three bureaux will be legally empowered to investigate any occurrence, irrespective of the severity, if they determine that safety lessons may be disseminated to the public,” the spokesperson said.

The government in the Budget speech in October also announced plans for a  specialised Roads Policing Squad focused on assisting in road safety.

Its roles will include reducing the time it takes to reopen roads after accidents and investigating the causes of accidents.