It is now legal to switch on your hazard lights and stop in front of a pastizzeria, even if you are driving on a busy main road.
The sight of a car doubled-parked in front of a pastizzeria with its hazards on is a common one in Malta, despite being illegal. Until today, that is.
As part of the amendment to the highway code, hazard lights will now officially be renamed to pastizzi lights, while all new cars imported to Malta will have a pastizz symbol instead of the standard triangle.
Furthermore, driving tests will now also include a stop to buy pastizzi for the examiner.
The change to the law was announced by Transport Minister Ian Borg at a press conference this morning.
“I believe that if a law is constantly being disobeyed, it’s much easier to just remove that law, rather than waste time and resources trying to enforce it. This is Malta, after all,” Borg told journalists.
“After all, what are you meant to do if you’re driving and suddenly crave a delicious pastizz or two? Find a place to park nearby? What if you’re driving a bus? That would be silly,” he said, adding that it was now also legal to eat a pastizz with one hand while steering with the other.
The minister clarified that the law did not apply to chicken pastizzi.
“Chicken pastizzi are an abomination and people who are caught buying them will be arrested on the spot,” Borg said.
The change from hazard lights to pastizzi lights follows last year’s decision to phase out car indicators.
