[WATCH] Transport Malta enforcement officers offer mince pies instead of fines

Motorists driving away from a roadblock with a smile on their face is somewhat of an anathema but that is what happened last week outside the Regional Road tunnels.

Transport Malta enforcement officers were pulling over drivers but the reason was not to admonish them for wrongdoing. Bewildered motorists were being offered mince pies instead.

A spokesman for the agency told MaltaToday the effort was part of Transport Malta’s Christmas campaign to encourage motorists to be courteous on the road.

The first part of the campaign included a promotional video inspired by Charles Dickens’s novel, A Christmas Carol, featuring an impatient and reckless motorist who receives a visit from a ghost.

“During the Christmas period, everyone is gentler, kinder, more mindful of those around him… Transport Malta hopes that this spirit of Christmas, can also descend on our roads,” the spokesperson said.

“The Transport Malta officials that pulled over those drivers on Regional Road last week encouraged safer driving, respect on the road and like the ghost in the video, handed over a mince pie, hoping that this small gesture will kindle the Christmas spirit in several drivers on the road,” he added.

The hope is that this caring attitude on the road will be displayed all year round.