Transport Malta and Malta Road Safety Council in biker safety campaign

Transport Malta and the Malta Road Safety Council have launched a new campaign to raise awareness on the dangers riders face on the road.

Bikers are involved in a higher percentage of serious accidents despite being much less numerous on the roads when compared to drivers. In 2016, only six per cent of vehicles registered in Malta were motorbikes yet 40 per cent of fatalities were riders – nine riders lost their lives. One of every three grievously injured was a rider.

Thus, Transport Malta and the Malta Road Safety Council decided to focus a campaign on riders and the interaction between riders and drivers on the road. The aim of the campaign is twofold; it addresses riders on one side and drivers on the other. It asks riders to be wary and be prepared for the unexpected, to wear protective clothing and not to over speed. The campaign addresses drivers as well. Bikers and riders are harder to spot and are far more vulnerable. Hence, the campaign asks drivers to be on the lookout and keep their distance.

The first video of the campaign shows a rider avoiding potential accidents at the last moment. T h e opening scene shows a fatal road accident where the rider is juxtaposed with a group of kids playing a Maltese traditional game, chanting, “Death is coming to get you”. The video serves as a reminder to show how easy it is to cause a potentially serious accident; merely opening a door or swerving recklessly can prove fatal for a rider. The second video in the series and the rest of the campaign will put further emphasis on the plight cyclists face. Transport Malta and the Malta Road Safety Council will be showing the video on TV and online, teaming up with a number of media outlets to reach a wide audience. They will be airing radio adverts and distributing flyers and posters, as reminders of the main themes of the campaign. As Motorbikes and bicycles are becoming more popular, Transport Malta is committed to, whenever possible, cater for these modes of transport in the design of future infrastructure. Transport Malta introduced motorcycle strips in Malta for the first time during the construction of the Coast Road; the strips make crash barriers safer for bikers and will be a more frequent feature on Malta’s streets. Transport Malta and the Malta Road Safety Council are committed to raise further awareness in the name of road safety, and appeal to both riders and drivers to respect themselves and each other on the road, helping make our roads safer for all.