It’s not right for roads to be “paralysed” with traffic due to road closures prompted by accidents, Prime Minister Robert Abela said today.

Abela was questioned by journalists today amidst calls for traffic management reform following a disastrous day for drivers yesterday.

After a driver crashed his vehicle in Regional Road at around 3:30am, the street was partially closed to traffic as a magisterial inquiry was opened… and stayed closed for hours, causing a nightmare for drivers.

“Without entering into the merits of the magisterial inquiry, I found it hard to understand how the inquiry kept on going for long if the incident took place in the early hours of the morning,” he said. “While I understand that technical work must take place, a balance must be struck and we cannot paralyse the country whenever there is a traffic accident.”

Following the incident, forensic expert John Ellul said an emergency traffic response team should have investigated the incident and quickly cleared away the debris.

“This rubbish that they close the street to open an inquiry doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world,” he said.