It is high time that the governing powers that be give serious consideration to elevating the legal status of hit-and-runs from simple contraventions to full-blown criminal acts. And the two incidents occurring within the space of a mere three weeks provide ample enough reason to follow such a course of action.

There are few things more heinous than inflicting serious physical injury, or even death, to a pedestrian and simply driving off without looking back, without lending assistance and without, at the very least, calling an ambulance.

Earlier this month, a six-year-old boy had both his legs crushed and was dealt a hairline fracture to his skull when he was hit by a car in the National Pool parking lot, transforming what was to have been an otherwise enjoyable family evening of water polo into a nightmare.

In that case, the culprit at least had enough decency to stop his vehicle and get out. But once he, presumably, saw the family and bystanders tending to the young victim, he slunk back into his car and quietly drove away.

Sadly, accidents of the sort do happen but the driver, even though he may not have been completely at fault, although eyewitness reports relate say he had been driving excessively fast in the parking lot, had the moral and legal responsibility to have remained on site until the matter was sorted out by the authorities.

Far, far more serious was the running down of a cyclist on the Coast Road earlier this week. In that case the motorist did not even stop, despite the force of the blow having been so strong that it ripped the bumper off his vehicle.

Without delving too far into the merits of this particular case, which is sub judice, it must be pointed out that a just few minutes can make a life or death difference in casualties of this nature.

The fact that the victim was in the midst of training for a charity event aimed at raising funds to save other lives renders the tragedy all the more poignant. And the fact that the driver did not stop to lend assistance, is more than irresponsible, it is utterly abominable.

That said, the country’s driving culture does very little by way of instilling any sort of responsibility in those behind the its near 300,000 steering wheels. The multitude of traffic contraventions seen on a daily basis around the country – failure to indicate when turning, to stop at zebra crossings or turning lights on in tunnels – does little to foster responsible attitudes.

Perhaps those responsible for enforcing traffic laws should be cracking down harder on the petty infringements, which are so symptomatic of a wider lack of responsibility on the part of large swathes of Malta’s drivers, will help to engender more responsible attitudes across the board.It is high time that the governing powers that be give serious consideration to elevating the legal status of hit-and-runs from simple contraventions to full-blown criminal acts. And the two incidents occurring within the space of a mere three weeks provide ample enough reason to follow such a course of action.

There are few things more heinous than inflicting serious physical injury, or even death, to a pedestrian and simply driving off without looking back, without lending assistance and without, at the very least, calling an ambulance.

Earlier this month, a six-year-old boy had both his legs crushed and was dealt a hairline fracture to his skull when he was hit by a car in the National Pool parking lot, transforming what was to have been an otherwise enjoyable family evening of water polo into a nightmare.

In that case, the culprit at least had enough decency to stop his vehicle and get out. But once he, presumably, saw the family and bystanders tending to the young victim, he slunk back into his car and quietly drove away.

Sadly, accidents of the sort do happen but the driver, even though he may not have been completely at fault, although eyewitness reports relate say he had been driving excessively fast in the parking lot, had the moral and legal responsibility to have remained on site until the matter was sorted out by the authorities.

Far, far more serious was the running down of a cyclist on the Coast Road earlier this week. In that case the motorist did not even stop, despite the force of the blow having been so strong that it ripped the bumper off his vehicle.

Without delving too far into the merits of this particular case, which is sub judice, it must be pointed out that a just few minutes can make a life or death difference in casualties of this nature.

The fact that the victim was in the midst of training for a charity event aimed at raising funds to save other lives renders the tragedy all the more poignant. And the fact that the driver did not stop to lend assistance, is more than irresponsible, it is utterly abominable.

That said, the country’s driving culture does very little by way of instilling any sort of responsibility in those behind the its near 300,000 steering wheels. The multitude of traffic contraventions seen on a daily basis around the country – failure to indicate when turning, to stop at zebra crossings or turning lights on in tunnels – does little to foster responsible attitudes.

Perhaps those responsible for enforcing traffic laws should be cracking down harder on the petty infringements, which are so symptomatic of a wider lack of responsibility on the part of large swathes of Malta’s drivers, will help to engender more responsible attitudes across the board.