On the corner of Triq il-Linja (Old Railway Track) and Triq Sant’ Anton (St Anthony Street), there is a “No heavy vehicles” traffic sign – exempting route buses, which is completely ignored by all drivers of heavy vehicles and trucks.

Strangely enough, there is no similar sign on the same road coming from the opposite direction. It is likely that the drivers of heavy vehicles and trucks who proceed along this road from the other end do not understand why they should not enter the same road from the direction of Triq Sant’ Anton!

It is doubtful if any driver of a heavy vehicle has ever been stopped from entering Triq il-Linja in the past three years and it is similarly unlikely that any driver of a heavy vehicle has ever been ticketed for entering this road.

What is the purpose of introducing certain traffic signs if the authorities concerned have no intention of enforcing the prohibition involved?

By allowing drivers to ignore certain signs on a regular basis, they might be encouraging certain drivers to do the same with other traffic signs, including stop signs and give-way signs.

The degree of lack of discipline on our roads is incredible and we are lucky that not more serious accidents take place on a daily basis.

It is about time that a national driver education campaign be launched to improve driving standards in Malta. This should target both new drivers as well as experienced ones and all media channels would need to participate in such a campaign, including television stations, to emphasise proper behaviour in driving.   

It is useless proposing to make Malta the best in Europe if its citizens are not educated in the most basic behaviour on our roads.

Alfred A. Farrugia

Malta Automobile Club