Set Up An Emergency Traffic Response Team, Reform State Official Urges As Near Daily Accidents Happen
Malta desperately needs to set up a new traffic response team specifically there to handle road accidents and get them back up and running as quickly as possible following crashes.
At least nine people have died due to traffic accidents in Malta in 2022 alone, and serious crashes on the roads across the island oftentimes lead to congestion and vehicle build-up in other towns and arterial roads, exacerbating the already stressful situation.
“This is all rubbish. There’s a need for an emergency traffic response team set up to investigate the incident, remove the debris and move on. This rubbish that they close the street to open an inquiry doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world,” John Ellul said following the latest crash.
Ellul, who previously worked on the government’s cannabis reform bill, emphasised that getting Malta’s roads back into working condition as soon as is feasibly possible after a crash needed to become a priority.
His recommendation was welcomed online, with people wondering when the state would pick up on the idea.
Traffic congestion has been a growing issue in Malta over the last few years, with several major projects – including the Central Link Project – aimed at lessening congestion in key areas.
However, the situation doesn’t seem to be getting any better.
People had a lot to say about what to do to lessen traffic congestion following an accident.
“The problem isn’t that the road is closed. The problem is from where the road is closed! Instead of finding a diversion that makes sense, they just close the area exactly around the accident. Aside from creating a bottle neck, drivers end up driving even slower to see what happened. And this happens every time.”
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Doctors for Road Safety, a group of medical professions focused on lessening traffic fatalities and injuries, said it was “sad and disappointed” to see that fatal and grievous traffic accidents have continued to increase in 2022.
They pointed out that Malta had already reached the same amount of road victims in 2022 as the entirety of 2021.
“In this time of political pledges, D4RS along with civil society expect our political representatives 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,” they said.
Do you think alternative methods of transport could be the answer to lessening traffic congestion in Malta?
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