The use of roads is a most essential public service. Road users have rights and obligations that all must respect. It is distressing that one of the most daunting challenges most people face every day is managing the stress of using our roads.
Road users include pedestrians, drivers of private and commercial cars, delivery vehicles, taxis, buses and school vans, construction industry heavy vehicles, e-hailing cars, cyclists, horse-drawn vehicles, e-scooters, and people who use mobility scooters.
All these and other road users claim they have a right to use the roads safely. Some lobby for special treatment in how our roads, streets, parking areas and pavements are used. Lax enforcement of sensible traffic and other civic regulations has made our roads dangerous and chaotic. The economic and health costs of this unacceptable state of traffic mismanagement must be quantified to create a better awareness of the urgent need for change.
The time is right for introducing a road users charter that clearly defines the rights and obligations of the different road users. The first step is to abandon all talk based on wishful thinking that deceptively seems to provide a silver bullet to resolve the chaos on our roads. Introducing a metro or a tram system is a pie in the sky that is unlikely to become a reality in the next two decades. At least in the next several years, the Gozo tunnel is an equally remote solution. The public transport service remains grossly inefficient.
A road users' charter must start by defining the extent of the problem. We need to ask some pointed questions like: Is it acceptable to have so many private cars on our roads? If not, how do we prioritise the use of our roads by vehicle owners? Is it safe to let so many e-scooter users on our congested roads or even on pavements? Should there be a limit on the number of e-hailing cars on our roads? Are the authorities convinced that all drivers are competent enough to drive on our roads? Is it realistic to have cycling lanes on stretches of our roads that are too narrow to guarantee the safety of cyclists?
A road users’ charter has to be based on the principle that everyone has a duty of care for themselves and other road users
Pedestrians are the victims, but often also often the cause, of the risks of chaotic traffic management. Too often, one sees pedestrians crossing the road while using their mobile phones to send or read messages. The pavements in our village and urban streets present unsurmountable architectural obstacles for persons using mobility scooters, or people using pushchairs. Steep ramps on pavements leading to semi-basement garages are a high risk for vulnerable pedestrians, especially if they use wheelchairs.
The lack of determination to curb the disregard of traffic regulations is encouraging abuse by irresponsible persons. For instance, the Coast Road is still used as a racing track by some petrolheads and motorcycle enthusiasts, who wrongly believe they have the “right” to practise their racing hobbies on our congested roads. More speed cameras must be installed on this arterial road and more random checks for drivers’ substance abuse are necessary on all our roads.
Oversized roundabouts in some busy traffic junctions are another cause of traffic jams. They must be replaced with traffic lights to ensure that the right-of-way principle does not cause endless frustration to drivers who must wait long to find a safe slot to proceed on their journey. Many arterial roads need better lighting.
A road users’ charter has to be based on the principle that everyone has a duty of care for themselves and other road users. Self-regulation does not work, as the endemic lack of enforcement has encouraged many to selfishly ignore the rules knowing that they are unlikely to be censored.
The rights and duties of all types of road users must be clearly defined. We must accept that the limitations of our road network mean that some restrictions must be introduced to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety on our roads.
Hoping that the traffic congestion problem will solve itself as people learn to live with the frustration of navigating our chaotic roads is a defeatist attitude. Decisions to put some order in how our roads are used will be unpopular, but the time for acknowledging the full extent of the traffic crisis and defining an action plan to mitigate it is long overdue.