Drivers are being encouraged to be prepared to stop in the middle of a junction, instead of at the corner next to the Give way traffic signs earlier on.
This was repeated on Monday, at the junction in Attard of Triq il-Ġonna, Triq Sant’ Anton and Triq il-Linja. Workers engaged by Attard Local Council have repainted the road markings.
As a result, the majority of drivers who come from Triq il-Ġonna hardly reduce their speed to go round the corner to proceed to Triq il-Linja. The road markings at the end of Triq il-Ġonna are more than a car’s length beyond the Give way traffic sign!
When these drivers try to go round the small roundabout to get to Triq Sant’ Anton in the direction of the President’s Palace, they come dangerously close to the vehicles coming out of Triq il-Linja!
The drivers in Triq Sant’ Anton coming from the direction of Attard Police Station have a mirror to show them the vehicles coming from Triq il-Ġonna.
Now these drivers can drive the length of an entire car into the junction past the Give way traffic sign. The mirror might as well be removed!
Drivers at the end of Triq il-Linja can clearly see the vehicles coming from Triq Sant’ Anton and Triq il-Ġonna when they are at the corner next to the Give way traffic sign.
They do not need to go past the Give way traffic sign as encouraged to do so by the road markings. This extension hinders the flow of vehicles coming from Triq il-Ġonna that want to proceed to Triq Sant’ Anton. It also partly obstructs the vehicles coming from Triq Sant’ Anton who want to cross to the other side of the same road.
If the authorities believe that the carriageway markings are correct, why do they not move the Give way traffic signs to the middle of the road, where the road markings are painted?
These road markings go against all the diagrams found in the Highway Codes of all civilised countries regarding large and small roundabouts.
Do our ‘experts’ know more than all the traffic management personnel of the whole world? One of the workers engaged by Attard Local Council informed me that he has never looked at the Highway Code!
What kind of training and guidance are the workers engaged on carriageway markings receiving? Are the Local Councils, Transport Malta or Infrastructure Malta providing any supervision?
Will Attard Local Council, Transport Malta or Infrastructure Malta assume any responsibility for damage resulting from collisions at this junction?
The road markings look nice on paper, but in reality they are dysfunctional because they bring cars dangerously close together.
Attard Local Council has informed me that it has simply refreshed the markings originally painted by the Transport Authority. The Transport Authority is not infallible. Attard Local Council should have drawn the attention of the Transport Authority to the inconsistent road markings.
Attard Local Council has simply repeated the error made by the Transport Authority and has assumed the same responsibility. Instead of encouraging disciplined drivers, the authorities are confusing the drivers by their decisions!
We can only hope that nobody is injured as a result of these road markings.
Alfred A. Farrugia
Attard