Motorists will face more penalty points and increased fines for breaking the rules of the road as part of a plan to reduce traffic fatalities, the transport minister has confirmed.

Aaron Farrugia told Times of Malta that tougher penalties will be included in a “comprehensive road safety plan” after a leaked internal Transport Malta document showed radically increased fines.

“Increased fines are a part of it... penalty points are another. It’s a comprehensive plan – there will be new strategies, revisions of policies,” Farrugia said.

“So, yes, I can confirm that there will be increased fines and increased penalty points in some cases.”

He said the details of the plan would be revealed at a later stage. Farrugia would not confirm if the final increases would be those detailed in the leaked document that emerged on social media over the weekend. 

The draft document suggested that some fines will skyrocket.

The penalty for driving dangerously would soar from €11.65 to €200 while motorists who use a mobile phone would pay €300 – triple the current penalty.

The government has come under pressure to take measures to prevent tragedies on the road and tackle heavy traffic congestion.

With less than a month before the end of the year, 2022 is the deadliest year on record for road deaths.

26 fatalities this year, 22 in 2016

There have been at least 26 fatalities so far, according to official statistics and police accident reports.

That is an increase on the next-deadliest year on the roads, 2016, when 22 people died in accidents.

However, because the number of cars on the road has increased, the fatality rate in the two years remains similar at around six fatalities per 100,000 vehicles, figures show.

Among the more recent victims was Marie Claire Lombardi, who died in a motorcycle accident in Rabat in October.

Her husband, Aldo Lombardi, a motorcyclist himself, said that fines should be much higher than they currently are.

He suggested that anyone caught driving with a mobile phone more than once should lose their licence.

“Unless fines are high enough to stop people from repeating the same contravention people are going to continue doing it,” Lombardi said.

In a previous interview with Times of Malta he also called for transparency over the causes of accidents. The results of magisterial inquiries are not made public, with experts warning that the system makes it difficult for lessons to be learned.

In his Republic Day speech this week, President George Vella called for a deep analysis of the situation and effective measures to prevent accidents.

“Too many people are dying in traffic accidents and saluting their memories is not enough,” he said.