Malta

From Driverspedia

Handedness of road traffic

Malta is a left-hand traffic country.

Speed Limits

The general speed limits in Malta are presented in the table:[1]

General speed limits in km/h (mph)
Type of vehicle Built-up areas Other roads Motorways[note 1]
Cars and motorcycles 50 (31) 80 (49) -

Notes:

  1. There are no motorways in Malta.

Documents

  1. Driving licenses issued by any of the EU member states or the EEA are valid throughout the European Union, including Malta. Drivers in possession of a license issued outside the EU are required to have an international driving permit (IDP) or a sworn translation of their own license.
  2. Registration certificate.
  3. Certificate of Motor Insurance. An International Motor Insurance Card (Green Card) is required for non EU registered vehicles' and would generally be a good option to be held by everyone.
  4. All foreign-registered with non-EU number plates vehicles in Malta must display a nationality sticker at the rear.

Items required in cars or with motorcycles

It is desirable that all vehicles should carry a reflective warning triangle. It should be used at any time of the day outside legal parking areas, in addition to the hazard warning lights if fitted. It should be set up 50 meters from the rear of the obstructing vehicle, on the same side of the road, 1 meter away from the edge of the road.[2]

Winter conditions

There is no obligation to install winter tires in Malta.

Headlights

There is no obligation to use your vehicle's headlights during daytime, but if there is low visibility headlights should be switched on and in mist dipped headlights should be used and in addition fog lights if they are available.[3]

Filling stations

There are both attended and self service fuel station in Malta. There are only very few fuel stations that accept card payments. Also pay at the pump systems accept only banknotes of a minimum denomination of 10 €. It is expected that by 2019 the number of stations accepting card payment would have rised.[4]

Fuel types

  1. Unleaded petrol / gasoline (Maltese: Petrol bla comb).
    Octane ratings of 95 RON and 98 RON are available with the later also named at the pumps as Super.
  2. Diesel. In Malta it is also called Dizil.
  3. LPG. It is also called Autogas and GPL in Malta. A list of stations that offer LPG can be seen by visiting the previous link.

Fuel prices

The average prices in Malta of gasoline, diesel and LPG are available following the links.

Electric car chargers

You can find electric car and PHEVs chargers in Malta at electricvehiclesmalta.eu, powered by DemoEV project, with Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure being the lead partner of it.

Road user charges

There isn't any charging schemes for road use in Malta.

Urban Access Regulations

Valletta has adopted the Controlled Vehicular Access (CVA) system in order to fight traffic congestion in the city center.

Controlled Vehicular Access makes use of automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) technology and dedicated camera systems to monitor and photograph vehicles entering and exiting the CVA boundary.

The system then automatically calculates the time the vehicle remained inside the Valletta CVA boundary and finally computes the fee due for access and parking based on the tariffs issued by Transport Malta.

The boundaries of the restricted zone with the entry and exit points marked are shown on the map bellow.

https://secure.cva.gov.mt/images/en_cvaboundary.jpg

A road sign with CVA in white letters enclosed in a red rectangular background notifies drivers entering in the zone and the same sign striked out with the words "Zone ENDS" written under it marks the end of the zone.

Charges apply from 8:00 to 18:00 from Monday to Friday, but vehicles that enter after 14:00 are excepted. There are no charges during public holidays as well as on Saturdays and Sundays. Motorcycles and electric and hybrid vehicles also are not affected by the CVA system and can access the restricted zone free of charge. The tariffs and the penalties for delayed payments are available on the system's official website by following the previous link.

You need to fill in your details using the CVA form R1 which is generally sent automatically with your first bill or by downloading and filling in the CVA form R2. You may also request a copy of the CVA form R2 via the CVA call centre.

Once filled in, the form has to be signed and sent back together with a photocopy of your ID card/passport. After your form has been processed the online access will be activated automatically. For SMS notifications, only one mobile phone may be associated with a particular vehicle. A charge of €0.05 per notification SMS applies to cover the basic operational costs but otherwise the subscription is free.

Available payment methods are:

  1. Payment by post (via cheque)
  2. Payment at the CVA office in Marsa (during dedicated office hours).

    Contact Details:
    CVA Technology Company Ltd
    No. 83 Winemakers Wharf
    Marsa

    Email: [email protected]
    Telephone number: +356 2206 4000

    Opening Hours
    Mon – Fri 8am-6pm
    Saturday 8am-1pm
  3. Payment at the Valletta local council.
  4. Payment through the CVA website via debit / credit cards. You can also register to pay your bills by Direct Debit. If you pay your bill before the invoice is issued at the beginning of each month, you will be given a 10% discount.

References

  1. Ministry for Transport and Communications, "The Highway Code", PART VII, 72. Speed Limits, September 2001
  2. Ministry for Transport and Communications, "The Highway Code", PART VII, Breakdowns, 137, September 2001
  3. Ministry for Transport and Communications, "The Highway Code", PART VII, Lights, 249, September 2001
  4. More petrol stations to accept card payments, Times of Malta, August 27, 2015