WATCH | Nicholas Vella: ‘Data showed high incidence of people driving under the influence’

Tests on drivers involved in serious road accidents and fatalities were revealing a high incidence of people driving under the influence, Nicholas Vella says. 

Vella’s words underpin the latest drive by the authorities to clamp down on drink and drug driving through legal reforms that are expected to be tabled in parliament when it reopens on Monday 15 September. 

Vella is the superintendent responsible for the police’s Roads Policing Unit (RPU), a recently set up section tasked with enforcement of traffic and road rules. 

I sit down with Vella in his office in Floriana after a summer, which saw traffic fatalities and accidents dominate news headlines. 

Vella tells me the unit he heads is already producing results, with data collection and evidence gathering helping in more efficient court proceedings and quicker convictions.  

He explains that officers within the unit have received special training and increased resources to investigate traffic accidents involving injuries or fatalities.  

“With the investment in equipment, officers are more capable of data collection, and also are more capable of pinpointing the reason for the accident. There could be information which is brought forward as evidence in court if a person is charged, and you could have information which is passed on to the different authorities like Transport Malta in order to address a shortcoming which could be leading to a repeat of that accident,” he says.  

Vella tells me data collection on accidents, which is part of the RPU’s remit, assists different governmental bodies in addressing shortcomings on the road network.  

Questioned on whether over-speeding is part of Maltese driving culture, Vella says one has to look at the wider European context. He points out that trends show that further north in the continent, one can see higher frequency of driving under the influence, but over-speeding is more prevalent in the southern region. 

On drug testing and breathalysers, Vella says that while currently allowed by law, the process will be streamlined under the proposed legislation.  

“Right now, for a police officer to carry out a test, the officer has to have reasonable suspicion that the person was driving under the influence. Disobeying traffic rules, erratic driving are also reasonable suspicion for a breathalyser to be carried out,” he says. “Drug tests used to be carried out, but were only allowed if during an inquiry a magistrate gives their go-ahead for a blood sample to be taken. The new process will be more streamlined.” 

The following is an excerpt of the interview 

What does the RPU do that ‘normal police officers’ don’t? 

It is a unit which is new and not at the same time. Its work is divided in two: Enforcement, which was carried out by what was called the traffic section; and the investigative arm.  

Before when there was an accident, you had district police investigating the case, and this would lead to a longer investigation, and we felt we needed to centralise the process. We trained our officers and invested in equipment, and now we have specialised officers for accidents involving injuries or fatalities. 

A problem which we see complaints and statements about is over-speeding. In certain areas at certain times, like the Naxxar Coast Road, the Ħaż-Żebbug Bypass and the Mrieħel Bypass, you have people who persist in over-speeding, and it seems nothing is done about it. Why? 

I agree that over-speeding is a problem. Enforcement is carried out, not just by us, but also by LESA and Transport Malta to ensure enforcement is at the maximum. Now, we could have a police officer stationed in the area for 24 hours, but as has been proven in the past, that activity is shifted towards another area. 

For example, at the Naxxar Coast Road, we noticed that a lot of over-speeding was happening at a certain part of the road, and fixed cameras were introduced. What happened was that over-speeding shifted to another area. People will realise that a police officer is always posted there, and speed elsewhere. We do not take that approach. You also have fixed cameras to penalise over-speeding.  

In certain areas, we deploy officers with a speed gun at specific times where over-speeding happens regularly. 

We’ve had a summer of road fatalities and serious accidents. Was this a coincidence or a wider reflection of the driving culture in Malta? 

Every fatality has a name, has a family and so we must respect that. As you said, we had an increase in fatalities, with one day even registering three fatalities. But this is not a new phenomenon; having a surge in traffic accidents and fatalities in a short period has happened before. 

I think the hype or attention given to these accidents stemmed from a number of factors, including better police work. Before, to announce fatalities we would wait for the magisterial inquiry conclusions, with some even taking up to a year for it to conclude.  

But we have taken a different route, and where there is clear gross negligence and a person has died, we go ahead and charge the alleged perpetrators. The media ends up reporting on the fatality itself, as well as the court proceedings.  

With social media you also have articles and reports that keep coming up on news feeds. 

But do you think over-speeding is part of driving culture in Malta? 

I think we have to look at the wider trends in Europe, and not look at Malta alone. You can notice that in Nordic countries, you have less over-speeding, but more driving under the influence of drugs. If you head south, that trend changes, and over-speeding is more prevalent. 

When these cases make the news, we start seeing experts calling for better enforcement. The unit you head is tasked with carrying out such enforcement. Are you not doing your work properly? 

No, I think we are doing our work better as we are carrying out targeted enforcement, rather than going always to the same place. We are looking at what the data is telling us, and enforce according to what that data shows. 

I must also point out that it’s not just us who carry out enforcement, but other sections within the force, such as district police, community police and the Rapid Intervention Unit. 

After government regularised cannabis, we keep on seeing a lot of people complaining about having individuals driving under the influence. Is it that big of a problem, or is it amplified on social media? 

It is the same problem we have with alcohol. Alcohol is not illegal, but you still have people who drink and drive. There is an element of public safety which needs to be considered by drivers. 

But how big of a problem is it?  

When we were analysing traffic accidents, it resulted there was an issue and high incidence of people who were under the influence, and that is why we felt we needed to streamline drug testing. 

When interviewing the insurance association head, he had insisted on the same intensity of enforcement by the police all year round as there is during the festive season. Is it possible, or you just don’t have the resources to do it? 

Enforcement is carried out during the festive season, and even throughout the rest of the year. What happens is that we are more vocal in our message during that period as it is the time when there is a higher chance of abuse.  

But as the numbers show, we are carrying out more road checks and enforcement, and more people are being fined and charged over illegalities when driving.