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Karl Schembri
Officials from the Transport Authority who were stopping cars on the road for inspections have been doing so illegally and have now been instructed to only stop vehicles in the presence of police officers.
Authority sources told MaltaToday that enforcement officers roving around the island in a specially-equipped van were stopping cars to check their roadworthiness until a persistent driver insisted that no law gave them the power to stop him for inspections.
The whole exercise was meant to crack down on fraudulent VRT stations that were issuing manipulated roadworthiness certificates.
But following the protests of an the driver who was evidently well aware of the country’s ever-increasing laws and legal notices, the authority has stopped the practice.
As the law stands, only police officers can stop drivers for inspections. The transport authority inspectors can only use their new van equipment if accompanied by a police officer. On their own, transport authority officers may only stop public transport vehicles.
“Vehicle roadside inspections are being carried out jointly by the transport authority, MEPA enforcement officers, and the police,” an authority spokesperson said. “So far, the authority’s enforcement officers may only stop, by law, public transport vehicles, that is, all vehicles used for the carriage of passengers for hire or reward.”
The authority is meanwhile pushing for wider powers in the law for its enforcement officers so that they can continue operating their inspection van on their own.
“New regulations are being drafted to extend the enforcement officers’ powers to also cover goods and other vehicles,” the spokesperson said.
This is not the first time that traffic regulations are found to be lopsided after they are introduced. A year ago, wardens had to stop fining car owners polluting the air with black soot after they found out they could not prove the contraventions took place when contested at local tribunals.
Even though the law prescribes a maximum level of acceptable exhaust emissions from every vehicle, the wardens still have no way of presenting evidence during tribunal sittings to find car owners guilty of the traffic contravention. Wardens were directed to stop charging car owners after several cases were turned down at the local tribunals.
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