DJ’s Facebook group alerts motorists on how to dodge police roadblocks

The deejay and party organiser Joelle Caruana has set up a Facebook group warning drivers, but also potential partygoers, about police roadblocks around the Maltese islands.

Reacting to recent roadblocks, the Facebook group hailed as a success the low number of drink-driving arrests during the night preceding the New Year.

“Happy New Year to everyone,” Caruana told the Facebook group’s 18,000 members on 1 January. “We’ve broken a national record, because nobody was caught driving under the influence…”.

Caruana’s group, ‘Malta & Gozo RoadBlock Alerts’. is private, but is visible to all Facebook users.

Caruana was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years in 2010, for engaging in sexual acts with a 13-year-old. He was also convicted of defilement in 2013, when he was photographed cupping a 14-year-old's breast at one of his parties.

This is not the first FB group to flag roadblocks to users, with others making the headlines in previous years.  

Members in the new group immediately started raising concerns about the legality of forewarning users of roadblocks, demanding it be kept a secret group. But Caruana insisted there is nothing illegal with the group, stating that it is just there to increase “awareness against reckless driving”.

“By no means are we trying to interfere in any sort of law enforcement operation,” the group’s description reads.

The group, which started gaining traction during the festive season, sees users flagging police roadblocks and other authorities on the road, including wardens and Transport Malta officials.

Users also warn against speed guns, posting messages to ask other users if they have spotted roadblocks while driving.

One of the group's admins following New Year's Eve

On New Year’s Eve, a number of members also started leaving wall posts, warning fellow drivers not to drink and drive. “You have family members waiting for you at home, don’t drink and drive,” one wall post read.

In the group’s description, the administrators stated that they would not be taking responsibility for people calling authorities names.

In other groups on Facebook, members refer to police as ‘pigs’ and wardens as ‘cockroaches’ in order to warn others about their presence.

Roadblocks serve as effective deterrents to illegalities on the roads like drink-driving.

A post by one of the users

On New Year’s Eve, three drunk drivers were caught during police roadblocks, with over 500 drivers being stopped at police checkpoints.

The checkpoint inspections were carried out by Traffic and Canine Unit police in various localities, such as Bahar ic-Caghaq, Birkirkara, Burmarrad, Mellieha, Imgarr, St Paul's Bay, Kappara, Lija, Pembroke, St Julian's, Qormi, Marsaskala, Tarxien, Zejtun, Luqa, Floriana and Paceville.