Malta deserves the title of ‘A nation of lawyers’. Obtaining a law qualification opens the door to various careers like politics, finance and, of course, the legal profession. We have honed the skill of drafting and enacting good laws that often serve as a model for some countries to craft their own legislation.
However, when it comes to enforcing our laws we fail miserably partly because of our Mediterranean laissez-faire attitude and partly because political pragmatism instils a fear of irritating the public with fair enforcement of sensible legislation. We probably do not realise how high the cost of such an attitude is. Here I am not just referring to the heavy lifting work of, for instance, enforcing anti-financial crime legislation, but also to the relatively simple task of ensuring that everyone respects sensible norms of good civic behaviour.
Another young motorcyclist crashed in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq on a Saturday at mid-afternoon. For those who do not frequent this area and other areas like Ċirkewwa especially on weekends, this is the time of the week when scores of bikers turn an arterial road into a racing track. They drive their motorcycles at excessive speeds frequently resorting to bravado in the form of dangerous manoeuvres like swerving on just their back wheel between cars using this important road normally.
Many rightly ask why traffic wardens or the police keep closing both eyes to this blatant abuse that puts at risk not just the lives of the wannabe grand prix motorcyclists but also on people strolling on this picturesque waterfront. Why does a serous fatal accident have to happen to enforce the law of overspeeding on our congested roads?
The recent uproar on the way that caravans are sprouting in every available parking place on our seashore was short- lived. The enforcement authorities claimed they cannot do much as the law states that caravans can park on any public land as long as they are attached to a motorised vehicle. The result is that the brazen and sly people in our society grab public land that should be free for all to use for the whole of summer so they can have an unobstructed access to the sea just a few metres away.
In Armier there are some land grabbers who during the past winter have refurbished their encroached seafront public plot with aluminium structures. In Mellieħa Bay the stench of sewage will soon be with us again especially in the north side of the bay where scores of semi-permanent campers are parked for several months.
The suspicion that many drivers are getting away with driving under the effect of alcohol or even drugs is not unfounded
Law abiding people have every right to ask whether the health authorities are checking where the wastewater of these long-term campers is going. Public administrators continue to indulge in creative inertia and legalistic excuses to refrain from enforcing perfectly sensible regulations that prohibit the use of public seafront land from being monopolised by a few sly people.
The public transport system has generally improved over the last few years but the quality of some of the buses being used is simply not acceptable. While many of the transport personnel are courteous despite their tough conditions of work, there are some who seem not to care much about customer service. These few are not only disrespectful, but at times outright abusive. While punctuality in the public transport service is too much to expect on our congested roads, the transport contractors can surely improve the civic behaviour of their staff.
Discipline on our roads remains another area where sensible regulations are blatantly not enforced. Double-parking is a constant risk that drivers have to manage to avoid accidents. The use of mobile phones by people while driving their cars is another dangerous reality that traffic management authorities consistently ignore.
Similarly the suspicion that many drivers are getting away with driving under the effect of alcohol or even drugs is not unfounded. It is simply not conducive to the promotion of road safety not to enact and enforce regulations that ensure that every driver will know that endangering the life of others by exceeding the alcohol limits will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Only a tough enforcement policy is sufficient deterrent for abusive drivers to think twice before driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Enforcing sensible regulations will not only make our lives better, but it will also improve Malta’s tainted image of a country that has little respect for good civic behaviour.
johncassarwhite@yahoo.com