After Almost Colliding With Speeding Garbage Truck In Marsa, Concerned Citizen Writes To Transport Minister
After almost getting involved in a potentially fatal accident with a speeding garbage truck in Marsa, a concerned citizen decided to bring the matter forward in a letter to Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia.
While speaking with Lovin Malta, the man expressed his concern about the “ever-increasing reckless driving of heavy vehicles on Maltese roads”.
On 12th November at around 11.45am, the man and his partner, who was the one driving, were entering the traffic circle from Il-Prekursur onto Regional Road, with the intention of turning left to the north.
All of a sudden, “a garbage truck entered the traffic circle from the south at such a speed that my partner had to quickly stop the vehicle so as not to be hit by the same truck,” the man wrote in the letter.
“To our great astonishment, we also realised that the male driver, aged approximately in his early thirties, with short dark hair and wearing sunglasses, was also speaking on his mobile phone!”
“He was so distracted that he didn’t even give the slightest glance in our direction!”
“This angered us so much that we were henceforth motivated to follow him and photograph the vehicle,” he said, attaching a photo of the garbage truck.
The truck in question
“My greatest concern is not only for other drivers on the roads for such reckless driving habits but first and foremost for my partner who relies on traveling to and from his workplace with his electric scooter. Had he been overseen by such a person as this truck driver, he would not have survived!”
The citizen also referred to a fatal accident that happened in Malta earlier this year which shocked the nation, when a food courier was killed after a truck toppled over along Regional Road.
“Nowadays, social media is full of such similar and near-miss incidents. This should most assuredly be a wake-up call to you and the members of our government, that such driving must be punished, and with immediate effect.”
“How many more people will have to be killed or injured before measures are taken?” he questioned.
He expressed how he is afraid that it is only a matter of time before he will be confronted with the tragic news of something terrible having happened to his own loved ones.
“I am simply not willing to bear that burden!” he said, before moving on to place a number of demands in the wake of the encounter.
“I demand that measures be put into place so that all heavy-vehicle drivers will be immediately held accountable for their irresponsible actions, and that educational and disciplinary measures be implemented so that dangerous situations can be avoided from the very outset.”
He finally called for the “display of carelessness for the general public to stop”, hoping that this would be the beginning of measures taken against truck drivers caught driving carelessly.
This comes as Prime Minister Robert Abela has just announced that discussions are underway to introduce harsher fines for people using their phones while driving, among other things.
Do you think harsher penalties should be introduced for speeding truck drivers?
READ NEXT: Lovin Milied Update: Sixth Edition Is Here And We Are Now Collecting Gift Boxes
