An analysis of some of the principal traffic offences in Maltese and foreign law.

Abstract

It is axiomatic that the motor car has become an inextricable part of modern life. It has led one psychologist to state that the motorist is to be regarded as neither a man nor a machine but a "bio--robot", a modern centaur the behaviour of which can only be understood if one recognises the unprecedented degree of man - machine integration (J Cohen and B Preston : Causes and Prevention of Road Accidents Vi p 21). It is also self-evident that even since the motor vehicle became a characteristic on the roads around the world, road casualties have tended to increase at an appalling rate. It is thus not surprising that motor traffic has created a great volume of law which represents one of society’s answers to the many pressing problems created by motor traffic. A law which is not concerned solely with accident ·prevention and the regular flow of traffic but which also deals with fiscal revenue - raising matters and matters ensuring the efficient and economic provision of public services transporting passengers or goods. However, a good part of traffic law is concerned with the proscription of anti-social driving or the dangerous operation of motor vehicles. In attaining such a goal the criminal law has a very vital role to play.