A leaked document suggesting that fines for traffic contraventions are about to be raised dramatically is not set in stone and is not the finalised version that will eventually be passed into law, sources have said. 

The image of a document began doing the rounds of social media on Friday and picked up steam on Saturday morning, being widely shared over platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp.

According to the paper, fines for some traffic contraventions will be rising as much as tenfold. 

Using a phone while driving, the paper suggests, will carry a €300 fine - up from the current €100. Fines for dangerous driving will skyrocket from €11.65 to €200, while driving a motorcycle without a helmet will carry a €100 fine (from €11.65).  

While some commenters bristled at the idea of being exposed to higher fees, others welcomed the news of harsher penalties, particularly in the context of Malta’s roads continuing to be plagued by tragic road fatalities. 

The leaked document doing the rounds on social media

Not the real deal

A source within the Transport Ministry said that the document was not a forgery, but said the paper was part of an internal ongoing discussion within Transport Malta to revise contravention fines. 

Another ministry source spoke similarly, saying that the final document would differ from the leaked paper. 

“Some of the figures on that paper are incorrect. And the final plan will also include licence point deductions for contraventions,” the source said.

A spokesperson for Transport Malta said that the agency was currently evaluating road accidents, their causes and associated contraventions as part of a road safety exercise to strengthen enforcement and discipline.

“At this stage, nothing has been decided or concluded,” the spokesperson said. 

“Official communication will be issued when this exercise is finalised.” 

Prime Minister Robert Abela had indicated last month that contravention fines would soon be revised, saying at the time that authorities were discussing the possibility of drastically increasing fines for people caught using their mobile phones while driving. 

Times of Malta reported that this year’s mid-year figure of 15 road fatalities was the highest in a quarter of a century. The figure has since climbed to 21 with the death of Marie Claire Lombardi, who died when her motorcycle skidded on some spilt olives in October. 

The year has been marred by traffic-related deaths, including those of 28-year-old Nepali food delivery driver Ajay Shrestha, who was killed after a truck toppled over on Aldo Moro road in Marsa, 21-year-old Ben Laferla, who died when an underage driver smashed a car into a wall in Swieqi and 51-year-old Antoine Degabriele, whose lifeless body was left on the side of the road after a hit and run incident in Żejtun.