Friends of the Earth Malta has urged a rethink of Malta’s transport vision following continued failure to create a safe and fair transport system, following a wave of serious traffic accidents in recent days.
“These are not mere ‘accidents’ but avoidable tragedies, enabled by policy decisions and planning failures that place cars over human life,” the group said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.
The environmental organisation says that traffic incidents are no longer rare, but have become a regular and deadly part of everyday life.
According to the NGO, this is the result of a car-first model that keeps being promoted, despite calls from civil society and clear evidence from research and national statistics.
In the last month alone, a man died in a traffic accident in Żebbuġ after a horrific collision with another vehicle.
Another victim was a German woman who was hit by a car in Floriana and died in the hospital days later.
At the end of last month, a biker lost control of his Honda and crashed into a bollard that separates the road from the pavement who also tragically died.
The NGO said that rather than investing in safer streets for everyone, successive governments have continued to build more roads that encourage fast car flow, while basic infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport users is still lacking.
“The financial burden is enormous, but the human cost, measured in lives lost and communities fractured, is far greater,” they said.
They also pointed to the recently announced Smart City Road project as an example of a shortsighted, visionless planning approach that trades public space and quality of life for more asphalt and vehicle access.
According to the NGO, weak enforcement of road laws, unreliable public transport, and unsafe pavements leave many with no choice but to drive. In this case, they said that the push for electric vehicles is a distraction rather than a real solution.
“While subsidies on electric vehicles help in the reduction of emissions, they do nothing to resolve the core issue,” the statement reads. “An electric car still takes up space, causes traffic, requires parking, and locks people into car ownership.”
Friends of the Earth Malta is calling for a total rethink of the country’s transport vision, one that puts people, not cars, at the centre. This includes safer infrastructure for those who walk or cycle, more reliable and accessible public transport, and public spaces that serve community life rather than traffic.
“Until we redesign our roads and our thinking, road violence will remain a tragic and daily feature of life in Malta,” the group warns. “We urge those in power to recognise this moment for what it is, not a string of isolated accidents, but a wake-up call.”