The Local Enforcement System Agency recently issued a statement saying that two speed cameras were to be installed on the southbound carriageway on the Coast Road.

In a statement to announce its plan, LESA said that the cameras form part of a road safety programme for this stretch of road and complement the ones that have already been put in place to cover the northbound direction.

We all agree that more should be done to improve safety on our roads. Last weekend,  this newspaper’s Sunday edition reported that, in the first four months of the year, we have already had more fatalities on our roads than we had in the whole of 2021.

So we do use these columns to encourage drivers to exercise more caution when behind the wheel.

But questions do arise as to other reasons there may be behind the installation of such cameras, especially when one takes a look at the speed limits that are imposed.

In this particular situation – the Coast Road cameras – we believe that there is a sense of “entrapment” behind the idea. We cannot understand, for example, why drivers coming from St Paul’s Bay are first faced with a speed limit of 70km/h for the first camera, and then just 60km/h for the second one, when the stretch of the road is similar.

The 60km/h speed limit is too low, and there is just one sign marking the 60/km limit as one is approaching the camera. We are sure that many drivers will be caught overspeeding in this particular area simply because the limit is not appropriate, and drivers who miss that one 60km/h sign will also get confused as to what the limit is.

The same approach was taken in the northbound carriageway, with the speed limit yo-yoing between 60 and 70. Why not have the uniformity of one speed limit all throughout the road? This lack of it is what makes us think that LESA is not only interested in safety, but also sees an easy way to make some money.

Having drivers reducing speed because they are moving from a 70km/h zone to a 60km/h area while driving on the same stretch is bound to lead to some sudden braking which could be the cause of accidents – the same accidents that LESA said it wants to avoid.

What we also fail to understand is why, in the southbound direction, there is this 60km/h speed limit in an open stretch of road with two lanes, and then, as one is approaching Pembroke – where the two lanes merge into one (who had this bright idea?) – the speed limit is 70km/h. The mind boggles.

It was good to hear the newly-appointed minister responsible for roads, Aaron Farrugia, saying that he has commissioned a study on speed cameras and their respective limits. We understand that even he does not like the fact that there are different speed limits in the same road in what appears to be an attempt to confuse drivers. Maybe even he is seeing that there is an attempt for the agency to make money.

While, once again, we implore drivers (and pedestrians) to be careful while on the road, there should be more consistency, and more road signs warning drivers of the speed limit as they are approaching a speed camera.