Boy racers welcome the prospect of wider Coast Road

Concern about the risks posed illegal races and "boy racers" on the Coast Road has been expressed by a number of people who regularly use the Coast Road in the early hours of the nights and who were interviewed in a social impact study which forms part of the Environment Impact Study, for the proposed widening of the Coast Road in to a dual carriageway.

Some of those interviewed in the study provided first-hand information about their young, male friends who enjoyed racing along the road late at night.

According to the study, car racers are attracted by the road's generally good surfacing, width, length as well as its 'openness' due to  the lack of traffic lights, roundabouts, and major traffic flows. 

These characteristics allow boy racers to reach high speeds that are not possible on other roads in Malta, which tend to be narrower.

In one of the interviews, a respondent reported having reached speeds of up to 250kph while on the Coast Road.

Given that Malta has very few roads at which a driver can reach any sort of speed nearing 70kph, and that the Coast Road is relatively free of major settlements, many younger drivers feel that it presents an 'open road' on which they can enjoy driving their cars or motorbikes.

When asked about the proposed widening of the Coast Road, those engaged in these races said that they would look forward to a wider road with an improved surface, as it would allow them to enjoy their racing more.

On the other hand, local residents expressed fear that widening the Coast Road could encourage this sort of reckless driving.

According to the study, these racers tend to be young men in their late teens and early 20s who enjoy customising their cars and driving them at high speeds. This is usually done in the small hours of the morning to avoid other traffic and detection by the police.

This abuse is more frequent in the winter months when there is less to do, particularly Friday and Saturday nights.

Around half of those interviewed in the study identified the increase in traffic speed and increase in recreational use of the road by boy-racers and motorcyclists as the main safety risk related to the project.

The study also shows that young women try to avoid using the Coast Road at night.

Young women, mostly in their early to mid 20s, tended to report that they and their friends avoided using the Coast Road because it was dangerous and they would rather 'take the best of two bad options' and use smaller, interior roads instead.

When asked if they would ever use the road at night, most of whom quickly mentioned the illegal racing  and bad accidents that take place on a number of sections of the Coast Road, which they perceive as being more frequent at night.

The Coast Road is also used for leisurely purposes motorcyclists.

Unlike fast car racers these tend to be a more diverse group including a wider age range and both men and women. Often this group use the Coast Road on Sunday mornings in which the ritual is to drive from Valetta up the Coast Road, along the St Paul's Bypass and to meet at one of the beaches on the south-west coast.

While the majority of motorcyclists making this weekly pilgrimage drive within the speed limit, a notable minority enjoy racing along the road of speeds up to 250kph, especially those owning street bikes.

This ritual not formally organised; rather, motorcyclists join the procession at various points along the Coast Road as they filter in from all parts of the island.

Most interviewees bar one agreed that more speed cameras are needed along the road, particularly if it were going to be upgraded into a four-lane highway.