The family of cyclist Clifford Micallef speaks candidly about their father 10 years after he was killed on the road. He would be angry about decisions taken now, they say.

Ten years ago Shirley Micallef had to face the hardest conversation of her life – she had to tell her three young sons their father had been killed in a hit-and-run accident during his routine cycle training along the Coast Road.

She called Max, Zak and Jon – who were then aged 15, 12 and eight – into the study and broke the shattering news that would change their lives forever.

Today the boys, now young men, stand strong by their mother – united in their call for safer roads for cyclists, stronger legislation and better enforcement.

They want to make sure their father, veteran cyclist Clifford Micallef, did not die for nothing. He was 45 years old when he was killed on July 30, 2009, at about 5.30am – when he was out training for this second Life Cycle challenge.

That morning, his wife and three sons were home, oblivious to what had happened.

“Two police officers came home early morning and asked to see Cliff’s photo. I showed them our wedding photo… It was horrid. I was the bearer of the bad news. My sister-in-law had come that morning to stay with the boys while I went with my brother to Mater Dei Hospital. I wanted to tell the boys. So, later that day, when I went back home, I called them upstairs to the study and told them,” she recalls.

By then the boys had figured out something was up. But they never suspected their father was dead.

“We had noticed there was a commotion and that our mother was upset. We thought some elderly family member had died,” recalls Max, now 25.

His brother Zak, 22, adds: “I remember we were whispering to each other: ‘What happened?’ We had noticed that our dad’s clothes were still at home…. we thought maybe he got delayed.”

Max continues: “He used to prepare his clothes for work. Come in at about 7am after his morning cycle and be out for work by about 7.30am. In fact, he used to complain in the car that he was still sweating from the cycle.”

Hearing the news that their father had died on the road was devastating.

Jon said: “I just couldn’t take it all in. The main role model in my life just disappeared from one day to the next. It confused me. It was the most painful day of my life.”

Max suddenly became the man of the household.

“I got thrown in, from being a teenager, into this situation,” he said.

“At first, I managed to bury myself in studying for my O levels to forget everything. But then, whenever I tried to study again, after the O levels, it took me back to that dark place. In fact I still find it difficult to concentrate.”

The main role model in my life just disappeared from one day to the next

He stops and adds: “I was meant to be with him that morning. But the day before I stayed up late watching a movie. I had been with him on Wednesday and said I would give it a miss that Thursday.”

Sitting next to him Zak reflects: “Me and my dad have a lot of similarities. It’s kind of weird. We still sort of have similarities. I’m into design work like he was. It’s like we share the same skill palette. So, I think about him quite often and still feel him till today.”

The family all do.

“We talk about him a lot because he was always up to something,” their mother smiles.

The smile spreads onto her sons’ faces as Max elaborates.

“My dad used to love these silly dad-type jokes. He used to call Jon “Jon Jon Jolly Bacon” like the brand. So every time we see a branded van we remember and laugh,” he said.

After the accident

July 30, 2009, marked just the beginning of a chain of events that changed their lives. Apart from losing their father and husband, the family lost a stable income and all that comes with it.

“He was a businessman and I was working a little at the time,” Ms Micallef says. After the accident she took up a full-time job to make ends meet.

“We, as a family, were very flexible. We could no longer afford living in the villa in High Ridge, so we moved to a smaller place,” she says.

“We did the necessary moves to try and be as comfortable as possible. The three boys were in a private school and friends and the school helped us.”

Apart from the financial struggles, there were the criminal and civil court cases.

“It’s been a very rough ride. But now it’s much better. I followed the court cases in detail with my mother who never missed a sitting at 80 years old,” she adds.

Finally, after over nine years, in October last year the criminal case was decided. Anthony Taliana, the driver behind the hit-and-run incident, was condemned to a three-year jail term and barred from driving for one year. He was found to be under the influence of alcohol while driving.

“The thing is that, nothing has happened really. The court case was in October and, till now, nothing happened because there’s an appeal with no date. I’m not a tit-for-tat kind of person, but unless there’s a punishment we’re never going to learn,” Ms Micallef says.

A few months before the decision, the family reached an out-of-court settlement for civil damages.

Ms Micallef stresses that, while glad the civil case was closed, her family needed the money urgently soon after the accident – when their life was turned upside down and she had to deal with frozen accounts and the loss of her husband’s income.

Safer cycling

Despite everything, Ms Micallef is determined to stay positive and look forward. “Whatever happened has happened. We found a lot of love. Now we have to find a way to improve the situation and be a bit more proactive,” she says.

Since the accident the family, all previous cyclists, have not felt safe on Maltese roads – and they are lobbying to change that for all cyclists.

“Last year, I was in the UK for two months and I had no problems cycling. But then you come back to Malta, and to get anywhere you have to take the main roads, you end up wondering not if, but when, they’re going to hit you,” says Max.

The family want to see change – starting with better enforcement to wipe out drink driving and respecting of cyclists and cycle lanes.

In April Times of Malta reported that 702 motorists were found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol after 1,149 tested positive in breathalyser tests between 2009 and 2016.

The boys find such figures ridiculous. As young men they often go out to parties where a lot of people are way beyond the drinking limit – a man of average build is limited to just under a pint of beer or a large glass of wine, while women can consume no more than half a pint of beer or a small glass of wine.

The figures clearly don’t reflect reality.

“It’s too ingrained in the culture to go out, have a couple of drinks and drive home. There is no fear – they know they’re going to get away with it,” says Max.

The family is lobbying for an all-round culture shift that would no longer make it “okay” to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs and that would shift people away from the use of cars only.

“The most important thing is putting cars as the last priority when it comes to infrastructure in general.

“Young people feel they are forced to drive cars because all the other options are not up to standard. This is the point where we start progressing. We’re not treating cars as a last resort and we’re not seeing that we have limited space,” Zak says.

“My dad would be very angry at decisions we take on our roads. There are too many cars. We really need to make a push and start making good decisions.”

Jon moves on to talk about the cycle lanes in Malta.

“Paint doesn’t stop cars. You see it all the time, cars just cross into the lane,” he says.

Max supports his brother’s argument. “What people need to understand is that, when you’re on a bike you’re just flesh, bone and a tiny aluminium thing. If cars get close, the very wind of the car is enough to throw you onto the pavement.

“I believe we need segregated bike paths. We also need to come up with a cycle network where you have routes for the bikes.”

The brothers concede that there have been improvements that include a better bus system and changes to legislation.

However, more needs to be done and enforced.

“It’s about changing a culture. I feel many drivers on the road feel anger towards cyclists – as though they should not be there. But the roads are for everyone. I’m sure that the Maltese are ready to cycle more if there is more safety on the roads. But, as things are today, I don’t want my children to be on our roads,” Ms Micallef says.

Bicycle Ride on Sunday

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of Cliff Micallef’s death, his family, friends and the Bicycle Advocacy Group are organising a bicycle ride in his memory.

Cyclists will be gathering on Sunday at 8am outside Ta’ Cassia, Salina, and together they will ride along the Coast Road and eventually finish at his memorial near Luxol Grounds.

Shirley, Max, Zak and Jon will be there to commemorate their father’s passion for cycling and to call for safer roads.