The plan to address road deaths will focus on holding "everyone responsible" and not just the government, Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia said.

This year there have been at least 26 road deaths.

In response to a question sent by The Malta Independent sent last week, the Transport Ministry confirmed that "a comprehensive plan will be announced by the end of the year".

Asked how people were supposed to be confident that this plan would address the issue and reduce deaths, given that the number of deaths have increased following previous policies, Farrugia said: "Very easy, everyone will be held responsible."

He expressed his concern about the fact that this year, every two weeks a person was killed on the road and acknowledged that these were not all cases of negligence.

"The Government will be reviewing its own policies, it will be reviewing a lot of things. But then the people, the drivers and even the people crossing the road also need to be responsible. I believe that if everyone makes an effort and if everyone is obedient and observes the laws, the numbers will decrease," he said.

Asked about the document that was leaked a few days ago suggesting that fines for traffic contraventions will be significantly increased, he said that "the figures are different" from that document and that all will be confirmed in the coming days with the announcement of the comprehensive plan focussing on road safety.

"The road safety comprehensive plan includes a lot of things, among these, fines and driving points, but there is a lot more than that," he said.

He said that fines on their own do not work, and there is a need to revise and update policies and strategies.

14 of the road deaths this year were pedestrians hit by vehicles. Just this week, a cyclist was seriously injured in a hit-and-run, while another almost died.

Asked whether there will be more importance given to alternative modes of transport, he said that Infrastructure Malta (IM) will have an important role to play in January, as they will benefit from a €35 million investment to work on alternative modes of transport.

Cycling lanes will increase around the country so that cyclists will have the opportunity to use their bicycles safely, he said.