Specialised Bureau For Road Accidents Announced As Daily Crashes Continue
By the end of this year, Maltese authorities are planning to set up a bureau dedicated to investigating road accidents, according to a government document.
The deadline, slated for December, is mentioned in a seven-page report called “Government Response to the Consultation on the White Paper – Towards Safer Transport in Malta.”
The document indicates that the necessary legislative changes will be presented to parliament by the end of July 2023, with the goal of implementing these changes by December 2023.
The White Paper Towards Safer Transport in Malta, which was launched last year, proposes a commission that will investigate air, sea, and road accidents from a scientific perspective.
The Bureau of Air Accident Investigation and the Marine Safety Investigation Unit are currently responsible for investigating air and maritime accidents, respectively. Both entities issue publicly available reports following significant incidents.
However, road accident investigations are confined to magisterial inquiries, which are kept secret and solely aim to assign blame.
The proposed Transport Safety Investigation Commission (TSIC) will be functionally independent of the transport ministry and will incorporate existing aviation and maritime investigative bodies. It will also include a new third bureau responsible for investigating road fatalities.
Notably, TSIC investigations will not assign blame, as stated in the White Paper.
The public has proposed various ideas, such as extending the scope of road safety investigations to non-fatal occurrences, offering support to crash victims and their families, and publishing timely safety investigation reports. These proposals are included in the March document that summarizes the consultation process.
The commission plans were announced last December, following Malta’s deadliest year on record for road fatalities.
In 2022, 26 people died on Malta’s roads, including 14 pedestrians, a man driving a horse-drawn carriage, and eight motorcyclists.
In response to these fatalities, the government has outlined a series of measures aimed at making Maltese roads safer. In addition to the investigative bureau, the transport ministry has proposed significantly increasing fines and penalty points for dangerous driving, as well as enhancing enforcement.
Parliament has also begun debating a law to formally introduce stricter penalties for traffic contraventions last Tuesday.
Last week, the government announced the first phase of a €35 million plan to improve the safety of walking and cycling.
Do you think roads will witness fewer casualties with these changes?