FEBRUARY 19, 2012
The Sunday Times MOTORING 3
CAR TORQUE
Mrieħel Bypass
“Never drive too slowly if road conditions are good and the traffic stream wishes to go faster, and never drive faster than the law allows”
HUGH ARNETT
T
he fact that traffic lights are working well in Mdina Road at the Aqueduct Junction is cause for Transport Malta to be congratulated and encouraged to do far, far more. Perhaps the hazardous junction into and out of Mrieħel Industrial Estate from Mrieħel Bypass should at last (waiting since 2006) be made ‘Turn Left’ only. In the same way, now that the timing of the nearby traffic lights has been seen to, is it not time that the junction of Kennedy Drive with the Coast Road be made ‘Turn Left’ only as well? It may alleviate the dreadful traffic build-up where Naxxar traffic finds it hard to join the coast road opposite the salt pans. We recently managed to check the accuracy of the Mini’s speedometer against the super flashing speed lights on the St Paul’s bypass. Sadly, a couple of days later, we failed to get a proper reading with the X/19 Fiat as the lights were already in rebellious mood. This was a great idea even if it was the precursor to people being booked a couple of hundred metres further on for disregarding any speed infringement. Transport Malta also had to veto, quite correctly, the mayor of Mellieħa, who wanted to make part of the main shopping street one way downhill. We sympathise with him for venting this desire during a public meeting. However, if offroad parking had been acceded to when suggested to the council in 1996, this chronic mess would never have been allowed to take over the council’s work. When the bypass is reopened, private cars can bypass the town by turning left at the bottom of the hill, following across the boathouse road until they can climb through Santa Maria Estate to miss the worst of the town. Mellieħa has a large retired population and in summer thousands of Maltese rent out accommodation. Many people do not have the physical strength to climb up the steep hill that encompasses the main shopping street, purchases in hand. Sad but true. The answer, unpalatable as it is, must be to reconsider the maximum size of both delivery trucks and public transport vehicles that perforce use Mellieħa’s principle shopping street. This is most certainly not a town for giant bendy buses, or even the larger Chinese imports.
Learner drivers Am I the only driver being constantly held back on all the major single-lane roads I use by slow moving learner drivers? Without being unduly selfish and speaking from experience, as my last six months within the ADT were spent as a volunteer driving examiner, I would suggest that major roads are totally out of bounds to inexperienced learner drivers unless the driving
to go faster, and most certainly never drive faster than the law allows. Instructors must remember that within days of passing the driving exam novice drivers may be on European roads at speeds never contemplated locally. For an instructor, teaching should mean how to drive cars for life and not simply to pass the practical driving test.
Protective barriers
This sign is a danger to traffic and liable to fall if very windy. Its outer edge can be no closer than 500 mm to the edge of the pavement or carriageway. St Paul’s Bay council have been requested to legalise its position twice. instructors are prepared to teach their students how to handle the car to maintain their place within the traffic stream without causing everyone else to slow down. The two-second-distance rule is vital, the use of fifth or
sixth gear is vital, and the students’ ability to drive safely within the parameters of our speed-restricted roads is vital. Never drive too slowly if road conditions are good and the traffic stream wishes
I was recenlty asked by friends to use the Naxxar/ San Ġwann road at night and to note the state of the protective barriers and kerbs. Frankly, as the mudcoloured barriers and kerbs were the same colour as the road in the old Mini’s headlamps, at times when being dazzled we could see neither. The regulations state that protective barriers should be painted in black and white diagonals and should have reflectors mounted on them. It would also be a good idea to paint the kerbs white and keep them and the barriers reasonably clean.
Dear Editor In an article in The Sunday Times Motoring (January 22), entitled ‘Car Torque Rules are there for all’, the author, Hugh Arnett, raises an interesting point about the maximum speed of vehicles allowed through traffic lights and pelican crossings. However, his assertion that traffic regulations are not clear regarding this issue and that 60km/h is a “stupidly” high speed for traffic approaching a pelican crossing is both incorrect and misleading for readers. It may interest Mr Arnett to know that specific design standards for pedestrian crossings have been legally binding under Maltese law since 2003. Maltese law requires that any person designing or building a road or carrying out maintenance or other work thereon shall comply with the ‘Design and Construction Standards for Road Works’. The UK’s Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) contains the relevant standards to be used by highway and traffic engineers for the design of roads, bridges, junctions and crossings. The DMRB was, in fact, adapted to national technical standards under the auspices of the same German professor being referred to in the article. The design of pedestrian crossings is extensively covered by Local Transport Note 2/95, published by the UK Department for Transport. This technical guidance prescribes the use of different pedestrian crossing types for different road conditions based on traffic speed, traffic volume, number of pedestrians and road geometry, among others. As a strict rule, a zebra crossing should not be installed on roads where the 85th percentile speed of approaching traffic is less than 56km/h, whereas signal-controlled crossings should not be installed where the 85th percentile speed of approaching traffic is higher than 80km/h. In this respect, use of signal-controlled crossings on roads that have posted speed limits of 60km/h, such as Valletta Road, Mosta, is in full conformity with the DMRB and Maltese law. We would be more than pleased to provide Mr Arnett with a copy of Local Transport Note 2/95, so that he may become better informed on the subject, thus avoiding the promulgation of incorrect data to the public. VICTOR BATTISTINO Senior manager, Customer Care and Media, Corporate Services Directorate.