Near miss – whose fault?

Some days ago, at about 9.00 pm, I witnessed what was nearly a double fatality in Birkirkara Road, Kappara. A driver almost ran over a lady pushing her baby in a pushchair whilst she was crossing the road using the pedestrian crossing.

The driver could only have been at fault for his somewhat excessive speed. The major fault lies with Enemalta Corporation. The crossing cannot be noticed at night as it has been unlit for a long time because its floodlight has, for some strange reason, been disconnected from the main system. Enemalta were made aware of this quite some time ago (their reference number 25498-MOPO58 dated 6 July) but no action has so far been taken after almost two months.

The driver involved in the near miss did not realise he was approaching a pedestrian crossing and therefore did not expect someone to be crossing the road. If the accident had happened, would the driver have been charged for hitting people on a pedestrian crossing when, through the neglect of Enemalta, he could not notice the crossing? His only fault would have been the somewhat exces- sive speed.

And this is another thing that the authorities should look into. The residents of Birkirkara Road and Hida Street – both in Kappara – are witnessing over-speeding, especially at night, including motorcycles. Will the necessary action be taken when a serious accident takes place? How about putting up speed cameras in these two roads?

Immediate action is requested regarding the pedestrian crossing.

Alfred Mangion Kappara