There were more traffic accident fatalities in the first four months of this year than for the whole of 2021, records compiled by this newsroom show.

In fact, there have so far been 12 traffic fatalities between January and April, compared to 2021’s 9 fatalities.

On Saturday 1 January, an 80-year-old woman died after she was hit by a car in Triq Giovanni Barbara, Hamrun. She passed away in hospital.

On 2 February, 42-year-old Steven Sargent died in an accident in Triq Ħal Tarxien , Gudja, when his motorcycle was involved in a crash with a van. The father of one, was a senior manager with GO Telecommunications.

On 3 February, a 71-year-old man died after he was hit by a truck that was reversing in Triq Wied il-Qoton, Birzebbugia. While this was technically a work accident - the victim had been helping a colleague maneuvre the construction truck in a narrow field - the incident also classifies as a traffic accident since it involved a vehicle. Carmelo Micallef was working for G&P Borg, a construction company.

28-year-old Nepalese Bolt driver Ajay Shreshta died when a truck overturned on Aldo Moro Road, Marsa, on 16 February. He was hit by metal objects that came flying off the truck when it toppled over. A number of other vehicles were damaged but luckily no one else was injured.

On Saturday 26 February, 50-year-old James Buttigieg lost his life after he was hit by a car in Mdina Road, Mriehel. Buttigieg was an APS Bank employee.

On Monday 7 March, a young man who had been involved in a traffic crash two days earlier succumbed to his injuries. 20-year-old Robert Azzopardi had been involved in an accident in Bieb ir-Ruwa Street in Bahrija on Saturday 5 March.

The following day, on Tuesday 8 March, a Bulgarian driver who had been involved in a crash on Sunday also lost his life in hospital. Yani Kuzmanov, 38, had been riding a motorcycle that was involved in a crash with a pickup truck in President Anton Buttigieg Street, Zejtun. He was also a Bolt Food driver.

On 11 March, a man died in a crash between a car and a horse sulky. The casualty was one of two men riding on the carriage. The accident took place in Dingli Road, Rabat.

On 15 March, biker Andrea Alamango lost his life in a crash with another motorcycle. The accident took place on the Kappara flyover.

On 3 April, a woman died after she was caught underneath her own car which she had just parked. The woman, aged 75 of Sliema, had just left her vehicle, a Toyota Aygo, which she parked in St. Publius Street at around 5pm. For some reason, the car moved forward, with the woman ending up underneath it, as the car stopped against a wall.

On 10 April, a man lost his life after he had been involved in an accident almost a week earlier. The 31-year-old Eritrean had been hit by a car on 4 April, in Triq Dicembru Tlettax, Marsa. The casualty was a migrant who lived in Hal Far.

The most recent fatality occurred on Tuesday 19 April, when a 24-year-old Sudanese man died after he was hit by a Land Rover, also on Triq Diċembru Tlettax.

Half of the traffic fatalities involved people who were hit by vehicles.

By 11 March, the number of traffic fatalities had already reached the amount of accident deaths for the entire previous year – nine.  

In a statement issued on the day, Doctors for Road Safety (D4RS) had said that civil society cannot keep on shifting responsibility solely onto accidents or misfortune.

It said consistent and repeated educational campaigns targeting all road users need to be ever present, while law enforcement clearly needs to be significantly stepped up. "We note that road safety falls under the responsibility of many different departments and institutions which one expects must make coordination and effectiveness of this important task highly challenging," the association said.

In the statement issued during an election campaign, D4RS said it expected civil society and politicians to come forward with significant and concrete proposals to address this alarming situation. An overarching authority dedicated solely towards road safety which regulates and coordinates these various stakeholders might be a good start, it said.

While road safety campaigns take place every year, and new roads are said to feature better safety features, including speed control cameras, two of which have been newly installed on the Coast Road, experts say this is not enough.

Over the years, experts have come up with several suggestions, including limiting young drivers to own vehicles with low engine capacities. The chairman of the Road Safety Council, Pierre Vella, had also told this newsroom that the planned racetrack at Hal Far could help ‘satisfy’ certain drivers’ ‘need for speed’, thus leading to more disciplined driving on the roads. The project is expected to be partially completed by next year.

Other suggestions included more pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, tackling the lack of pedestrian crossings in certain localities.