Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1531391
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 JANUARY 2025 4 INTERVIEW Adrian Galea: 'Road safety can improve if we all do our part… but enforcement is crucial' Enforcement on Maltese roads is still inadequate when considering the num- ber of vehicles on the road, the Direc- tor General of the Insurance Associa- tion Malta (IAM) tells me. Adrian Galea sits down with me short- ly after the first fatal road accident of 2025 in which a 25-year-old man lost his life. A few hours before the accident, the IAM had issued a statement urging the authorities to enforce road safety on Maltese roads all year-round, as they do during the festive season. Among the association's concerns, Galea explains that it is unacceptable that only a tiny minority of drivers involved in accidents that result in injuries and dam- ages are required to take a breathalyser test. "Maltese people nowadays know how to enjoy themselves," he jokes, noting that parties, weddings, and other events where alcohol and drugs are consumed happen all year round. He further high- lights that authorities need to find ways to test for drug-driving. Galea also speaks about the impor- tance of the much-delayed Bureau for Road Safety Investigations, which was promised to be delivered by December 2023. The bureau would carry out inves- tigations of road accidents distinct from magisterial inquiries in a bid to collect useful information and data that will then enable the authorities to make deci- sions based on research. When asked about the general car cul- ture in Malta and whether it makes sense in today's day and age, Galea says "re- ports and studies have been done" and that it's time to act on these studies to prevent losing control of the situation. Adrian Galea, Director General of the Insurance Association Malta (IAM), warns that enforcement on Maltese roads remains inadequate despite the increasing number of vehicles. After the first fatal road accident of 2025, he tells Matthew Farrugia year-round is needed and stresses the urgent need for the delayed Bureau for Road Safety Investigations to be established. Safety can improve if everyone does their part, and that includes us as drivers and pedestrians.