The debate on the many problems that drivers face on the road has subsided, but it does not mean that the situation has improved. The public outrage has diminished simply because the rainy season is over, and the situation is not getting worse. And, apart from the potholes and uneven surfaces that we all have to drive through praying that our cars withstand the ordeal without damage, there are other matters that irk us all, in particular the wardens, lack of parking and the “big brother” cameras.

But let’s start with the road surfaces. When the heavy rains during the past winter caused so much damage to the roads that the government embarked on a pothole-filling and urgent resurfacing campaign, it was known that the work was only temporary. So much so that most of the potholes have re-emerged over time and the patching works have made some stretches more uneven than they were previously.

There are, then, other areas that have not seen a layer of tarmac for many years, and seem to have been forgotten by the government and local councils. To give two examples, one can mention the stretch from the end of the Mriehel by-pass to the BOV Centre in Santa Venera, and St Elia Street in St Julian’s – the former is in a poor state, while in the latter’s case the work has remained unfinished.

Drivers pay their road taxes to make use of decent roads, and yet they have to encounter so many difficulties, not to say damages, because of shoddy surfaces. Although new state-of-the-art roads have been built over the past two decades, there are many other areas that need to be seen to.

The culture of suing the government and local councils for damages sustained to cars because of poor roads or because of inconvenience caused due to delays has not picked up in Malta, simply because drivers know that it would entail going to court for several months before the matter is decided. But if a few do take the plunge and the courts award them damages then both the government and local councils will be more careful.

Added to this, the road network – with so many cars on the road – needs to be upgraded too so as to avoid having long traffic jams, particularly at peak hours. The large number of cars that accumulate each and every morning and right after office hours should have spurred the government into trying to find a solution, but so far complaints have been ignored. In summer, the situation is slightly better because of the school holidays, but come late September we will be back to doing what should be a 10-minute drive in 30-40 minutes.

With regard to other matters concerning our roads, all that local councils seem interested in is making quick money by having parking restrictions or installing cameras to pick on drivers who abuse. Drivers are known to have been fined for waiting in their car which was parked out of the way – and was therefore not affecting the traffic flow – simply because “big brother” took a photo of the vehicle. One such place is the roundabout in Spinola Bay, St Julian’s.

It is a real pity that local councils see the situation in the roads under their responsibility simply as a possibility of making money, and then at the same time do not perform their other role – that of building better roads for their residents and other drivers – to the best of their abilities. They expect the fines to be paid within a specified deadline, and drivers have to pay more if they do not settle their debt in time; but then local councils do not care if the road they planned to repair in three months ends up taking double the time, or if road works carried out are not up to standard.