Sarah Bajada’s unlicensed Fiat fiasco: Malta’s latest driving shame goes viral

Sarah Bajada’s very Maltese apology – “sorry, I didn’t know” – has become the island’s latest cautionary tale after the influencer-turned-entrepreneur was pulled over in her pastel-pink Fiat 500 on the Sliema front, only to discover her road licence had expired in January and her insurance policy had lapsed two weeks earlier.

The incident, captured on a passer-by’s TikTok and viewed 1.2 million times in 24 hours, is more than a fleeting social-media scandal. In a country where the car is still king, where every family conversation eventually drifts to traffic, and where the phrase “u ejja, qed nitħajjar” (“come on, I’m only popping round the corner”) is practically a national motto, Bajada’s lapse has touched a raw nerve.

The 28-year-old, best known for her lifestyle brand “Island Glow” and 73k Instagram followers, was stopped during Monday’s rush-hour round-about blitz conducted by Transport Malta and the police. According to the official report, officers asked for her documents after noticing her window-tint looked darker than the legal 30 %. When she opened the glove-box, out fluttered an unopened envelope containing the renewal reminder mailed last November.

Bajada later posted a teary selfie from the Paola vehicle-testing station, saying she had “let down followers who see me as a role model” and promised to pay the €250 fine “immediately”. She also pledged to sponsor a month of driving-awareness ads on her podcast, though many commentators dismissed the move as “PR damage-control with a Maltese twist”.

Local context matters. Malta has the EU’s highest car-ownership rate—626 vehicles per 1,000 people—and some of its most congested roads. Yet the culture of “I’ll do it tomorrow” persists. Last year, 18 % of accidents involved at least one uninsured driver, and roadside checks routinely net dozens of expired licences. Transport Malta spokesperson Claire Busuttil told Hot Malta that Bajada’s case “is unfortunately typical: young, educated, social-media savvy, but still treating paperwork like it’s 1980s Gozo”.

The fallout has been swift. Memes juxtapose Bajada’s €150 designer sunglasses with the €25 licence-renewal fee. One Facebook group, “Stupid Things We See on Maltese Roads”, gained 8,000 new members overnight. More seriously, insurance brokers report a 40 % spike in online policy renewals on Tuesday, something market analyst David Pace calls “the Bajada bounce – embarrassment as behavioural economics”.

Community reaction splits along generational lines. Older drivers recall the 1970s when you “knew the traffic policeman’s cousin and sorted things out with a crate of Cisk”. Millennials argue the system is archaic: “Why can’t we renew via app like we do with GO bills?” asked TikTok user @malta_meg, whose rant garnered 200k likes. Meanwhile, environmentalists seized the moment to revive calls for free public transport. “If even influencers won’t keep cars legal, maybe we should make the bus irresistible,” said Suzanne Maas of Friends of the Earth Malta.

Bajada’s own businesses are feeling heat. The beauty-supplement company she co-owns lost 1,500 Instagram followers in two days, and a planned collab with a local dealership has been “paused”. Yet some fans admire her public mea culpa. “At least she didn’t blame the klikka,” commented one supporter, referencing the Maltese reflex of attributing every mishap to a shadowy clique.

Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia weighed in, announcing a summer amnesty for late renewals – but with a catch: offenders must attend a 90-minute road-safety webinar. “We want compliance, not just cash,” Farrugia said. Critics counter that amnesties reward procrastination; others welcome anything that slashes queues at the Ħal Far testing lane.

As the dust settles, the episode has become a mirror held up to Malta’s love-hate affair with the automobile. We laugh at Bajada because we see ourselves: juggling three jobs, two side-hustles, and a nagging feeling that the paperwork can wait until after festa season. Her apology may be sincere, but the real test is whether the next influencer story is about a new bike lane or another pink Fiat moment. Until then, the island will keep renewing its insurance – one viral shame at a time.