Surgeons have appealed for more prudence and diligence on the road amid the "alarming" rate of increasing road traffic tragedies” over the past weeks.

The concern was raised in a statement by the Association of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeons of Malta (AOTSM) which follows another by the Doctors for Road Safety (D4RS) who had expressed sadness and disappointment at the rising number of fatal and serious accidents on Maltese roads.

And on Thursday, road safety experts slammed as "unacceptable" the state of safety on Maltese roads as the country recorded its 10th fatal accident since the start of the year. 

The surgeons' association said: “We have not just seen a greater number of road traffic deaths this year when compared to the whole of last year, but we have also witnessed bizarre and tragic accidents involving both motorists and pedestrians, such as a loaded truck toppling over and crushing a motorcyclist, a car splitting into two, motorists running over joggers, a collision between a horse sulky and a car, and even motorbikes colliding with each other.”

On Wednesday, the National Blood Transfusion Service appealed for blood donations because of low stocks partly caused by the relentless spate of accidents.

The association said that for every tragic fatality mentioned in the media, there are several other accidents resulting in life-changing injuries with permanent disabilities affecting people of all age groups and from all walks of life.

Multiply-injured patients frequently required several complex operations, usually entailing input from different specialities and necessitating a prolonged hospital stay. 

Such patients also tended to require extensive rehabilitation, implying lengthy periods away from work along with the financial implications.

“This ripple effect causes untold physical and psychological suffering not only to the victim but also to the victim’s family,” it said as it appealed to the public to be “increasingly aware of this growing local problem”.