Traffic damages award against Roads Department, Enemalta

The Roads Department and Enemalta Corporation have been ordered to pay damages to a motorist whose car was written off following an accident caused primarily by poor road markings.

The judgment was delivered by Mr Justice Giannino Caruana Demajo in the First Hall of the Civil Court in a case filed by Maurice and Joyce Laferla against the Roads Department, the Works Department, Enemalta Corporation and the Manufacturing and Services Department.

Plaintiffs later withdrew their suit against the Works Department and the Manufacturing and Services Department.

Plaintiffs argued that their car had been written off following an incident which occurred in Valley Road, Msida, on December 6, 1998.

The Laferlas were driving towards Valletta from Birkirkara along Valley Road at around 11.30 p.m. At one point the road was totally unlit and Maurice Laferla had to follow the centre line of the road in order to guide himself.

However, this line was misleading and Laferla had collided with the centre strip, lost control of his vehicle and collided with the wall on the side of the road.

The car was found to be beyond economical repair. The Laferlas claimed that defendants were responsible for the damages they had sustained. In its judgment the court noted that the white line painted down the centre of the road gave a wrong indication of the road's configuration.

There ought to have been another line on the other side of the centre strip to indicate that an obstacle was present. Furthermore, the accident would not have occurred had the road been properly lit for in such a case Laferla would not have had to follow the white centre line to maintain his position on the road.

However it resulted that on the night in question the light that was exactly on the site of the accident was not working. The Director of Roads and Enemalta Corporation were therefore responsible for the accident for they were bound to ensure the safety of roads.

However, the court agreed with the submissions made by defendants and found that plaintiffs were partially responsible for the accident as they were driving at a higher speed than was safe in an unlit road.

Plaintiffs were found to be responsible for the accident to the degree of 30 per cent. The Roads Department and Enemalta Corporation were ordered to pay a total of Lm1,680 between them to plaintiffs.