The faces behind Malta’s road fatalities

A map produced by cycling advocacy group, Rota, charting all the people who died in road accidents is a grim reminder of how deadly Malta’s roads can be.

So far, in 2025, 17 people have died as a result of traffic accidents. Six people have died within a few days in July alone, while another five died in June.

These deaths include six pedestrians, five motorcyclists, five people who died in a car, and one bicycle rider.

But these deaths are not just statistics, Rota says on its website. After each death, victims leave behind families, friends, and communities and the purpose of the Road Deaths Map published on the website is to recall each and every victim.

The map is a database of all road deaths since 2000, documenting the location of the accidents and whether the victims were pedestrians, drivers, motorcycle drivers, bus drivers, or other profiles.

But the map is also accompanied by a photo gallery showing the victims’ faces, each representing a life that ended too soon.
Speaking to MaltaToday, Sergio Sammut, Rota's president explained that the map serves as a memorial for each victim, stressing that some of these deaths could have been avoided.

But Sammut notes that the memorial can help authorities to “wake up and smell the coffee,” as well as to highlight certain fatality hotspots.

Indeed, when one zooms into the map, the Coast Road that stretches from St Paul’s Bay to Pembroke is clearly a hotspot for accidents. Other main thoroughfares also stand out.

Sammut explains that roads themselves are not usually responsible for fatal accidents, pointing his finger to the local culture around driving as a result of lack of enforcement in the past. “If you know that you won’t get caught driving while drunk, then you're more likely to do it,” Sammut says.

He describes the recently launched updated Malta Road Code, as a positive step forward, however it is critical to introduce refresher courses for long-time drivers to stay up to date with current regulations.

While acknowledging that there is no magic formula that can eliminate road deaths overnight, Sammut says that the introduction of presumed liability, can be one of many measures that will make a difference.

A presumed liability law could do more than just help compensate injured people; it could motivate more people to cycle simply because of the perception of increased safety. Studies show that more people cycling makes cycling safer.

A virtual memorial - Paolo Cassar Manghi

Paolo Cassar Manghi, a former member of Rota who started the database of road deaths back in 2017 tells MaltaToday the idea behind the database is to ensure that victims are never forgotten. He is one of the countless individuals who lost friends in road accidents.

On the wider picture concerning Maltese roads, Manghi notes that while enforcement is frequently mentioned as a solution to road deaths, he insists that the roads themselves must be designed in a manner that prevents speeding and ensures vulnerable road users’ safety.

He further comments on the lack of will to reduce the number of cars on Malta’s roads, explaining that traffic eventually leads to road rage or reckless driving. “I think we should no longer think of getting from A to B as some sort of race,” he says.