Experts told this newspaper that new measures are needed to handle traffic flow and that the use of cars is continuing to burgeon.

Many may think that the reason behind it all is that Malta has a terribly inefficient public transport system. This is part of it, but experts say that the main reason is economic development and increased spending power, coupled with the status symbol of a car.

Over the past ten years, some 58,000 cars have been registered in Malta - 10,000 of them between June 2013 and June 2014. As of April 2013, there were a staggering 318,720 licenced vehicles on our roads.  As of 2010, Malta was ranked ninth in the world when it comes to cars per capita, with some 693 vehicles per 1,000 people. Interestingly, San Marino and Monaco - both tiny countries - came first and second with 1,263 and 899 per 1,000 people, suggesting that small relatively affluent countries may share some similarities.

Getting to work in the morning has become an absolute nightmare with journeys of 10 kilometres taking up to an hour (or more) to complete. The Government has said that the impact of traffic is also affecting the Maltese economy as goods and so on take double or triple the time of what they should to deliver.

The experts got that one right. Malta is completely car dependent with over 70% of trips being made in cars.

Perhaps what is different in Malta to other cities and countries that have a high car to 1,000 people ratio is that we have no dedicated mass transport system. While not an absolute shambles, public transport is still an issue and all we have is a bus system and a few water taxis.

All over Europe, cities have underground systems that allow for quick and reliable service that sees commuters get from A to be without having to resort to roads and cars or, buses, for that matter.

It is clear that something needs to be done. We are supposed to be an advanced nation that is a member of the European Union, yet we still see traffic cops (no disrespect to them, they do what they can)  stationed at antiquated roundabout systems waving traffic on into a chaotic dance of the dodgems. One actually wonders how there are not that many accidents.

We really need to address some issues. One of those is learning how to build proper hard-shoulders. Take Regional Road, for example, it is Malta's main thoroughfare with tunnels, flyovers and the lot. But on most of it, there is no hard-shoulder to cater for cars pulling in when they have broken down, sustained a puncture or even after being involved in accidents.

This issue has begun to be addressed in the way new roads are built, but surely, there must be some sort of solution that can be devised?

We also need more overpasses and underpasses. Traffic always bottlenecks in certain areas where - you guessed it - there are roundabouts. One might emulate the Brussels example. Rather than building cumbersome and complicated overpasses - just opt for an underpass which is much easier.

It is clear that Malta's road network is creaking. Even a cursory look at some of the overpasses shows that they are in dire need of maintenance. The bus system alone cannot solve the problem. We need a multi-pronged approach to solve the issue - which is becoming unbearable.