Perhaps it never really was, but this year has driven the point home: from a safety perspective, Malta’s road infrastructure simply is not safe for those who have no choice but to use it.
This week alone, in and amongst the road accidents which have been reported, three people – Marie Claire Lombardo, Jesus Reina, and Anthony Bongailas – died in traffic accidents in the space of three days.
It means that a total of 22 people have now died in road accidents this year – a record high in Maltese history.
While this statistics alone is shocking, we must also keep in mind the countless other people who suffer grievous or serious injuries in traffic accidents, injuries which the victims must in many cases bear the consequences of for the rest of their lives.
This points to a very simple fact: Malta’s roads simply aren’t safe for those who use them. The term ‘those who use them’ is a key one here: that includes not just people who drive their cars – even if our Transport Minister said that new roads must cater to them first and foremost – but it also includes motorcyclists, cyclists, and pedestrians amongst others.
12 out of the 22 of Malta’s road fatalities this year were pedestrians.
Four were run over on the same stretch of road in Marsa – Triq Dicembru 13. Doctor and Puttinu Cares President Victor Calvagna was hit by a car while he was out for a jog. Bank employee James Buttigieg was hit while he was walking along Mdina Road. Antonie Degabriele was killed in a hit and run.
We need to question: is there the infrastructure in place on roads in order to allow pedestrians to cross safely? Are pedestrians walking along our roads safe even in the case of an accident happening on the road itself?
Six more of the fatalities were motorcyclists. Telecommunications manager Steven Sargent died a week before his 43rd birthday when a pickup appeared to come out of a junction straight into his path. Food courier Ajay Shresta died after a speeding truck overturned, hit a light pole, which fell onto him and killed him. A French national died after losing control of his motorcycle and hitting a barrier. The same can be said of Marie Claire Lombardo, who died this week.
Again we need to question: Is enough being done to educate people about the presence of motorcyclists on our roads? Is enough being done to regulate where cars can cross lanes from junctions? Are the crash barriers which are used in some roads even safe for motorcyclists if they had to crash?
All of these are questions to ponder – but the authorities cannot afford to ponder them for too long. Travelling on Malta’s roads has become hazardous. It’s not something one can take for granted anymore.
One day you might be walking to work as usual, only to never make it there. Maybe you can be travelling home, or going on errand. Tragedy can strike at any time.
It is the authorities’ responsibility to ensure that the infrastructure that we use to travel is as safe as can be. Accidents will, unfortunately, still happen. That’s a fact. But the government needs to ensure that everything is done in order to, first, avoid as many of them as possible, and second, keep everyone as safe as possible in the event that they do happen.