The young man lay still on the ground, a scooter by his side, caught in the headlights of a car whose owner had just witnessed yet another serious accident involving a scooter rider. The photo of that shocking scene was carried on Times of Malta two weeks ago, the third serious e-scooter accident in under a month.
The 20-year-old – who sustained a grievous head injury – survived, but, like other serious road accidents, no information was released on his present condition. One can only hope he will return to normal life.
He joins the statistics on traffic accidents that are growing ever more alarming. Road fatalities for this time of year have reached their highest in 26 years, with 18 victims so far.
In the meantime, our traffic network remains as congested as it is dangerous, despite the millions thrown into roadbuilding which clearly have not solved the problem. The 56 new cars that hit Maltese roads every day point to the government’s failure to instil culture change and reduce car usage.
The proliferation of e-scooters in Malta is actually a positive development. They take up little space and they do not harm the environment. Hailed as a step forward in mobility, their number has grown to 2,300 since their introduction in 2019.
With some planning, e-scooters could go a long way towards resolving some of the chaos on our roads. But with little enforcement and with regulations which appear to be open to interpretation, it is no wonder they are being blamed for adding more chaos.
The presence of another uncontrolled variable in the network is bound to increase accidents.
Many e-scooter users are clearly not familiar with the Maltese traffic system and others are outright careless.
How many times have we seen them being driven through one-way streets or zigzagging dangerously through pedestrian areas? Since they have no proper parking bays, the sight of scooters strewn across pavements is common and the government has not yet found a solution, although it professes to be in talks with the operators.
The recent spate of accidents involving these scooters is further proof that the system needs changing.
The PN has just presented a set of proposals, among them that scooters should have designated parking zones and that they should be equipped with tracking devices.
It is the Transport Ministry’s duty to not only regulate the operators and users of these e-scooters but also to provide solutions.
In this regard, Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia’s recent dismissiveness of legitimate concerns raised by cyclists about road safety and accessibility does not bode well.
Despite complaints from NGOs and their proposals for a safer, less-congested road network, it seems the authorities are intent on ploughing on with the same policy – that of spending millions on widening roads and building new ones simply to serve increased car usage.
This flies straight in the face of the much-vaunted “mobility” promised years ago.
The new roads are proving more, not less, dangerous for anyone using any sort of vehicle and, in some cases, there is a lack of accessibility for anyone who doesn’t use a car.
In the meantime, there seems to be no acknowledgment, let alone the serious intent to find a solution, from the concerned authorities.
The 18 lives lost are set to go down as yet another tragic statistic, a new record our country could well do without.
Let it spur the authorities to act with greater urgency – and do their utmost to ensure scooter riders are not added to that statistic.