Bowser skids, crashes, on Regional Road

Investigation by the transport police? Tyre threads? Dangerous Driving? state of the road or weather? At least one thing is in order - THE BARRIER. Hopefully that will be fixed within 7 days so there is no casualty next time too.

Fdan l-incident li qed naraw tigini f'rasi in-nizla t'Alla u Ommu fejn it-triq hija perikoluza hafna specjalment meta tkun naqra xita jew nida, xi zmien ilu kienu ghamlu xi esperiment bit-tarmac ahmar biex ma tisskidjax fuqu u ghamlu parti zghira u ma komplewix, ma nafx min hu responsabbli taghha dik it-triq, imma nkunu nafu meta issir xi disgrazzja, ta kuljum ikun hemm karozzi li jehlu fin-nofs tas-central strip u tat-towing jahdmu halli jaqalaw il karozzi min hemm.Nistennew forsi xi hadd iqum mir-raqda li qijed.

Most roads are lethal when it rains - and not necessarily due to heavy rain. Ta'Alla w Ommu hill is a case in point!

@J. Abela

Spot-on! If any of the bloggers below knew anything about tyres, one look at most trucks on our roads will reveal that they are shod with the crappiest tyres on the market.

B.busuttil - i agree 100% with you. recently i was abroad and even whilst crossing the road you can notice the the tarmac has more grip!!! also, when i was on the bus, and by the way it was raining the type of rain that usually makes maltese roads feel like someone covered them in oil, the driver was driving much faster than any other vehicle on the road even round the bends and this was a heavy vehicle. guess what?? not even the slightest signs of the vehicle skidding!!!! had he done the same on the maltese roads the bus would be in a scrapyard by now!!!

First of all I seriously hope the driver in question did not get hurt, neither physically nor thru shock.

A lot of persons commented below on the status of the tarmac. Needless to say, a very good point - we don't need any [foreign] experts to confirm this.

However I don't recall reading an important question from the below commentators: What about the tyre/break conditions of the bowser? Are industrial vehicles serviced (by qualified people) regularly INCLUDING TYRES?

@Adrian Wirth ... Damn right you're not an economist!! But maybe it's true ... maybe the high unemployment levels in the rest of Europe is down to the very good standards of their roads!!! Hallina trid?

@b.busuttil ... Of course Mr.Cremona is serious, he is Malta's leading hydrologist!

Poor Tarmac...... NO PROBLEM..... Let us pray that the Pope will be travelling from this stretch of Road. I am hopeful the authorities will not want to risk the pope mobile haveing a similar experience as this bowser. After all we do get April showers.

I'm not an economist but has anyone ever actually calculated the value to the economy - i.e. % contribution to GDP - of all the services / employment in the vehicle servicing, repair, maintenance, supply service support, insurance, medical, road maintenance/patching and other services industry?
What would be the % decline in value to national GDP if the road system was to the relevant E.U. standards, without potholes, smooth as a baby's bottom, covered with asphalt to the proper abrasion resistant standards, properly graded and drained with petrol/oil interceptors taking and separating surface water run off and street/road lighting furniture compliant with the EU Lighting Directive?
What would be the number of jobs lost were we to have a perfect road system?
Could it be that part of the answer is that political party analysts are aware of the significant job losses that would result. Is it possible that current road maintenance and repair policy's are designed to avoid the perceived risk of resulting vote loss's ?

@ K. Anastasi - Vote for change, if you must, but in order to have better roads........... sure, let's see a Labour minister waving his or her magic wand! U hallina, trid!

@marco cremona: r u serious????????????

This government has been a complete and utter failure when it comes to roads, no one... not even a government supporter can argue with that. I will be voting as a motorist in the next election. Time for change!

The quality of the tarmac of our roads are really in a very bad stat, it is impossible for this goverment who has been in power for over 20 years now wants to do everthing at one go. Go down to bay street comeing down to the Intercontinental Hotel and if your shock -absorber does not test itself on this road which is like a street on the moon.How can the goverment leave a road in this state. Tourists comeing from all over the world and you can hear them make fun about it. I feel really sorry for the decesare family and all the other investors who invested so much in hotel`s/bars/restaurants/cinema ect ect and the road is a disgrace.

Water is very heavy (1 tonne per cubic metre). Why doesn't somebody ask why we are transporting water by water tankers (bowsers) when we have a perfectly functional water distribution system that spans the island? Why do we have to be exposed to so much more diesel emissions when we can do without?

Oh, yes. It's probably groundwater isn't it?

According to the experts, a crash barrier is prone to make the driver that he/she can drive faster. Maybe this is the result of this expert opinion?

Is anyone aware that The European Asphalt Manufacturers Association held their annual conference here about two years ago. I heard from a senior delegate that an address by a government representative opening the event suggested that 'we have no problems with our roads in Malta'. If correct doesn't that statement explain all that's wrong with the management of our road system.

I almost lost control driving at 30km/h on a wet surface and this with an almost brand new car and in tip top condition. The problem is with the roads. There are no maintenance works being carried out. This island is in a state of complete neglect, everybody on his own -- the government is only concerned to tax us to death and get no service in return.

Of course, one wonders why we have to pay extortionate vehicle registration taxes and annual circulation taxes when the roads are in this pitiful condition.

It takes place only in Malta!

vera it tarmac dizastru... barra min Malta issuq bil 120KM/h u il Karozza tibqa imwahla mal art. allajbierek Malta jekk isuq bis 60KM/h il Karozza tibda tisfen l'hemm u l'hawn.

It is not just the road surface that counts in such accidents but also the condition of the vehicle. Wheel alignment, break shoes and above all tyre condition.

The tarmac quality in Malta is ZERO!! I wonder where all the taxes that we pay for good roads go!! and mind you .. the increased licenses fees and the 6euro administration charge at the ADT for 5mins work!! Pajjiz tal-qamel!! Issa moda gdida: girfa u laqa tarmac!! u viva l fondi li weduna mill-EU!! u le minix laburist u lanqas nazzjonalist!! Nippreferi nkun oggettiv fej nista!

only when someone at the petrol station or the residents below dies will the road be resurfaced or scraped as they did at Qawra.

So careful when wet road .... i told you....... you are big man, not kids

Maybe its time to move that petrol station from that bend before there is a catastophic accident altogether.

That stretch of road is lethal in wet conditions. I had an accident there some years back and i was only doing 30km/hr. I just could not control the car. As can be seen in this photo the bowser was not going at high speed. I just passed from there and the damage is minimal. That stretch of road needs resurfacing before it claims some other victim.