The Tales of Maltese Roads: Vol 1,000,001

I know so many blogs, articles, columns and probably theses have been written about the mediocrity of the Maltese roads, but I guess another one to add to never-ending list wouldn't really do any harm. And with due reason this is the case, because driving on this island is increasingly becoming even more of a nightmare with time - too many cars in too little space, and an undoubted hierarchy among drivers within the system, with especially bus and taxi drivers assuming that they are kings of the road and hence rule the roost over mere 'peasants', i.e. the normal, everyday driver.

I'd be lying if I said that all Maltese drivers are not of an adequate standard, because undoubtedly, there are some drivers who take pride in exercising an element of caution when moving around and follow every rule by the book. However, I would also be lying if I said that all Maltese drivers are disciplined, good-natured and of an excellent standard, as demonstrated by a little experience that I passed through while driving earlier on this afternoon, and probably as demonstrated by many other drivers in the past.

On my way down to Sliema, I had to pass through a narrow road (which is a two-way street), through which a bus was coming. Obviously, with the road being too narrow for both my car and the bus to pass, I stopped by the side, giving what I deemed enough room for the bus to pass. To cut a long story short, the bus driver decided that he couldn't pass without hitting my car and told me - or more like demanded - that I must reverse so that his royal arse could pass. The only problem was that there was another car on my tail, making it a bit impossible to, well, reverse without hitting it (eventually the woman behind me did reverse herself, hence allowing me to move). Now, I would have been fine with all of this happening, especially if the bus couldn't indeed pass, but why the bus driver's demands had to include a multitude of swear words and blaming everything on God, in Maltese naturally so that it sounded even more uncivilised and primitive, is beyond me. As did the jibe that he passed afterwards, "Fejn iz-**** tghallimt issuq?", which actually did make me snap a bit because my only alternative, before the woman reversed, was to drive into the wall so that the bus could pass. Honestly, if these are the kind of people that are going to be heading the new Public Transport system when it comes into force, then please, for the love of God, kill me now.

It seems as if one only sees this ridiculous hierarchy more in Malta than anywhere else in the world. When I visited Italy, which isn't exactly the most renowned place for safe driving, the taxi driver/s that I had rode with were actually courteous, polite and, most important, drove safely and didn't overcharge us, as his passengers. In Malta, it's the complete opposite, as the country seems to thrive on negligent thugs who believe that the road is owned by the them, and God forbid you defy this for them in any way, means or form because they'll actually be hunting for your blood - just ask Austin Gatt, when he took the decision to liberalise the Public Transport, Taxi and Hearse markets. Sometimes, it actually makes you wonder if Malta is indeed part of 21st Century Europe; as well as how much progress has been made by the Maltese people overall since when Hagar Qim Temples were built.

Unfortunately, the problem doesn't seem to be getting better either. As time goes by, more and more people will start driving and more and more cars will be on the road, making it inevitable that such instances will continuously occur and tempers will famously flare up all too often. Add this to a lack of proper education vis-a-vis driving skills by most instructors, who are either interested in having a coffee or biting their nails while their students waste their petrol (while obviously charging extremely high rates for doing so) and you have a continued recipe for disaster. Only when the current generation of bad crops passes away and these are replaced by people who have been properly taught how to drive will we have peace on the roads of Malta. In other words, this should read that it's never going to happen.

God Bless You all!
Matti