Dangerous driver who caused accident gets 7 day driving ban as court calls for speed calming measures

A court has made a call for speed calming measures in the Siggiewi bypass as it decided a case by a reckless driver whose driving caused a collision three years ago.

This emerged as Robert Galea, a 38-year old Siggiewi resident, whose reckless driving caused another motorist to crash into a tree in April 2016, was fined and banned from driving.

The accident had taken place along Triq Mons Mikiel Azzopardi at Siggiewi, a stretch of road which motorists regularly used as a “race track” by irresponsible drivers, noted the court, at the expense of residents and innocent passers-by.

On the day of the incident, the accused had overtaken four vehicles in his Subaru Impreza, which the court noted was kitted out with spoilers and tinted glass windows, before crossing into oncoming traffic.

The driver had narrowly missed a car driving in the opposite direction, forcing the other driver to swerve to avoid the Subaru and crash into a tree by the roadside.

A van driver who had witnessed the incident had told the court how he had been overtaken by a fast blue vehicle, “that sounded like a racing car,” which also overtook three other vehicles before ending up in the path of oncoming traffic.

The driver who crashed his car had told police the colour and model of the other car, but not its numberplate. Nor could its driver be identified on account of the tinted windows.

The police had eventually tracked the driver down and charged him with dangerous driving and a series of other offences related to the accident. The man’s lawyer had claimed that the identity of the culprit was by no means certain as the blue Subaru Impreza was not the only one of its kind.

On the basis of the testimonies and a host of circumstantial evidence, the court, presided over by magistrate Joseph Mifsud, concluded that there was no doubt that it had been the accused who had caused the accident.

The court declared the motorist guilty of negligent and reckless driving, failing to exercise due care and attention, crossing continuous white lines and damaging third-party property, fining him €200 and imposing a 7-day driving ban.

Furthermore, the court called upon the relevant authorities for the immediate implementation of “speed calming measures” at the particular stretch of road to curb abuse, suggesting mobile speed cameras to catch drivers unawares.

In a decree delivered in conjunction with this judgment, the court pointed out that the speed camera at Triq Mons Mikiel Azzopardi was proving ineffective and that other steps needed to be taken to curb abuse by those drivers who presented “a constant peril to those who lived there or happened to be passing by,” ordering that its decree be communicated to the Siggiewi Local Council, Transport Malta and the Police Commissioner.