We’re going nowhere, fast

The number of traffic accidents over the last few weeks has brought into sharp focus once again just how recklessly we drive in this country.

Every time I read the phrase “for some reason, he/she lost control of his vehicle”, the phrase inevitably conjures up a cartoon image of a car or motorcycle snapping into action, pulling on a pair of shades, revving up the engine and snarling at the driver: “hold on to your hat buddy, we’re going for a ride.”

But in real life, vehicles do not suddenly develop a mind of their own, taking full control over the driver like some possessed demon. Of course, there are other variables which can cause accidents like potholes, oil spills, a pedestrian suddenly crossing the road in the wrong place, or even adverse weather conditions over which a driver has no control, but in that case I would expect a news report to say so.  We should also be told if a driver was driving under the influence, but somehow we are rarely given this crucial bit of information when an accident happens.

Instead, we get the standard cliché which for me always signals over-speeding and a driver who is either distracted or drunk/on drugs.

Every day we drive by at least one wreckage or collision, and an article published on Saturday in The Times has now confirmed that, according to the Civil Protection Department, the main causes of accidents are:

• driving under the influence
• use of mobile phones while driving
• excessive speed or “overconfidence” (whatever that means)
• road conditions

When we are in our cars, we are basically in a potentially lethal weapon. And yet, look around you as everyone zooms by with an almost crazed look in their eye as they speed to their destination, blithely ignoring the first rule of driving: two-hands-on-the-wheel-eyes-on-the-road-at-all-times. As much as we like to think of our precious vehicle as an extension of ourselves, when we are driving, anything else should be put on the back burner. So that pretty much rules out texting, holding the mobile to your ear for a long chat, rummaging with one hand for your favourite CD or checking out how good you look in the rear view mirror.

Child passengers should have it drummed into them not to distract their parents while they are taxi-ing them to their various extracurricular activities from one end of the island to the other. The last thing a harassed, stressed-out mother needs is children yelling and clobbering each other in the back seat while she navigates what has become one huge obstacle course of roadworks and other manic drivers. Does it even need to be said that children should be firmly strapped with seat-belts in the back? From what I see, yes.

In Malta’s roads (which are so bad that they are filming a movie about war-torn Libya without even having to do too much to “dress” the set), driving too fast is a death wish.  Sure there are more potholes than surfaced roads, but if you are driving slowly and crash because of a pothole the potential for damage to your vehicle, yourself, pedestrians or another car or driver is considerably reduced. It should not be rocket science to figure out that it’s the sheer force of the impact of a car hurtling along at 80km/h (or more) which is going to cause the worst accidents.

The newly set up National Road Safety Council is promising to press for stronger enforcement of road safety rules. Well, Amen to that. I just hope it’s not going to fizzle out like the breathalyzer test did. Yes, believe it or not, Malta does have such a thing, but you could be forgiven for not realising that it exists, not when you see people obviously bombed out of their minds after a night out, or after a wedding, getting behind the wheel and just driving off, wheels squealing, fantasizing that they are in the final lap of the Formula One.

Everyone seems to be in a tearing hurry to get to where they want to go, and the increase in cars, as well as our fast-paced lifestyles in which we try to cram 100 things into one day, has us zigzagging all over the island in a kind of mad frenzy. Cars shoot out from side streets without any thought to slowing down, while vehicles push and shove their way to be the first to get to a roundabout, everyone grimly determined not to let anyone else pass through. Impatient drivers toot and beep if you are driving “too slow” (but what is actually the speed limit) and whizz past you with a snarl and a choice obscenity, overtaking other cars even on a dangerously narrow road impervious to the fact that they could smash into an oncoming car any second.

Right of way? More like “get out of my way!” The other day I barely escaped being slammed into by a huge truck which refused to slow down as it approached the roundabout which I was already on. It was like a terrifying game of “chicken” for which I did not sign up. I guess, poor guy, he didn’t want to lose his momentum but the near miss left me shaken as I imagined what could have happened if he had barged into me and flattened my little car.

I pulled over and spent the next minute calling him all the names in the book (even if he was long gone) to get the shock out of my system.

And what on earth is everyone driving so fast FOR? If you are late, you are already late, and driving at breakneck speed won’t get you there any faster. We are at a point in our traffic jams and chaos that we need to leave for our destination a good 45 minutes or even an hour before the designated time so we might as well get used to it.

It is a jungle out there so it is better to show up early to wherever it is you want to go, then to never show up because you’re dead.