Roadside breath testing will be implemented in Bermuda for the first time to tackle drink-driving.

The amendments to the Motor Car Act 1951, which will allow police to breathalyse drivers by the roadside, were welcomed by road safety group CADA and the Road Safety Council.

“We are in full support of roadside breath tests and we are excited to see it finally get pushed to the forefront,” said Carlton Crockwell, chairman of the council,

“It is something Bermuda needs and it is a step in the right direction.”

Anthony Santucci, the CADA chairman, praised the Government for the proposed changes to the legislation.

“We believe that Non-Selective Road Sobriety Checkpoints will go a long way to addressing the numerous road fatalities and collisions on our roads,” he said. “It is also clear from the most recent survey of our young people that they are first introduced to alcohol in the home.

“So we are disappointed that there was no mention of “Social Hosting Laws’ or the establishment of an Alcohol Bureau of Control (ABC).

“If we are to change Bermuda’s relationship with alcohol, we encourage Government to be bold and follow our 2008 Legislative committee recommendations.”

At present motorists suspected of drink-driving have to be taken to a police station to be breathalysed, which can be an extremely time consuming process.

“The Government, with the assistance of the Bermuda Road Safety Council, the Bermuda Police Service and other agencies, has completed research on roadside sobriety testing and its feasibility in Bermuda,” Governor George Ferguson said yesterday.

“The working group reviewed relevant legislation and schemes in several other jurisdictions. The research also included identifying a suitable testing device for Bermuda.

“The Government will therefore introduce amendments to the Motor Car Act 1951 creating provisions for preliminary breath testing, an approved instrument order authorising police to administer the proposed breathalyser and ‘test before arrest’ for roadside breathalysers.”