The transport ministry has declined to give a deadline by when the promised Transport Safety Investigative Commission will be set up.
According to a government document released in April 2023, the bureau should have been up and running by the end of that year and was intended to help identify any shortcomings, issues and patterns to amend road safety policy.
Currently, magisterial inquiries and police investigations are the only methods of investigating road accidents in Malta. Their conclusions generally remain confidential.
A year after the target launch date, the bureau is still nowhere to be seen and it is unclear whether it is currently staffed. According to budget figures, the bureau spent around €15,000 in 2023, was allocated €120,000 in 2024 and will be given another €120,000 this year.
Asked for an update, a spokesperson for the transport ministry said: “Technical discussions are still ongoing with a view to find a balanced compromise which addresses the concerns of all stakeholders involved. At this juncture, efforts from all the parties are being undertaken with a view to find a workable solution on the ground. The government is confident that there is the necessary goodwill to make this happen.”
Pierre Vella, the former chairman of the Road Safety Council, said that, while setting up such a bureau was not a simple task, there could have been developments without stepping on the toes of the courts and the police.
“The bureau could be given information on specific aspects of an accident – for example, the distance of the brake marks, the car’s condition, whether the driver was drunk or tired, and so on,” Vella said.
“The government is in a position to kickstart this thing. I feel there are very competent people currently working at Transport Malta who would do a great job if given the opportunity. The main problem is that no one seems to know who is in charge of it,” he added.
The delay has been condemned by victims’ families, insurers and doctors’ associations who said it is symptomatic of road safety not being given priority.
The end of 2024 was marked by a series of serious traffic accidents. Dieter Vink, 54, was killed when his motorbike crashed into an unpermitted skip on the St Paul’s Bay bypass.
Two days later, a 17-year-old girl was critically injured after being hit by a Jeep in Mellieħa, while a 29-year-old man sustained critical injuries after being hit by a car while replacing a flat tyre.
On December 22, two motorcyclists were injured – one of them seriously – in a traffic accident on Triq is-Salini, which involved three motorbikes and a car.