Even when parents or guardians do their utmost to advise and caution young people about the dangers of speeding, there will be those moments of youthful adventure — and most of us have had that experience — when this wisdom is forgotten amid a brief spell of feeling immune to mishap. Sometimes the result can be more than painful.

In recent years, Bermuda has lost many promising young minds through unfortunate road mishaps.

Despite a variety of campaigns aimed at making our roads safer, the issue of speeding remains a stumbling block for Police and road safety officials, not to mention the anxious parents who worry more these days when they hear an engine start as their young boy or girl heads out to school.

Accidents do not always involve speeding. There are times when a decision without proper thought can be a contributing factor, although common logic dictates that the chance of correcting an error of judgment is greater when speed is not involved.

No one should jump to any conclusions about the causes of any tragic road mishap before a full investigation is carried out.

The loss of a young life on our roads is not only devastating to their family, but all of the Island is shaken because our future is in the hands of good young minds and every mind is precious in working towards a better Bermuda.

It is generally accepted that no amount of warnings and advice will eliminate traffic mishaps entirely. It only takes a split second of misjudgement to result in an accident, and this means every road user should be forever mindful that full attention is required for better safety.

A few days ago while in my daughter’s car travelling through Smith’s, she turned off one road on to another, and without the slightest warning a young boy on a pedal cycle rode out from a gate directly into the path of the vehicle. She moved quickly with the skill of an airline pilot to steer away from him as he scrambled to avoid what seemed an unavoidable crash.

One could have placed a sheet of paper between his cycle and the car.

Unfortunately, not all close calls end up being just a close call.

Hopefully that young boy will learn something from that scare, and will exercise caution the next time he enters a main road.

These incidents occur more frequently than people realise, and when nothing serious happens there is a return to business as usual on the roads.

Most accidents are associated with inattention, being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, speeding, or sometimes a medical issue.

The causes can stem from a range of conditions that affect one’s ability to maintain a high degree of concentration to reduce the potential for a traffic mishap.

With so many vehicles moving about on our narrow roads every day, even the best drivers and cyclists can hardly blink if they want to avoid running into a situation through a mistake by another road user.

Every year at this time, there is an appeal by Police and road safety officials to be more safety conscious as children on school holidays and visitors on mopeds travel about the Island to enjoy its natural beauty.

This creates bustling traffic that is difficult to control by the best of safety campaigns.

However, if it means talking until we are blue in the face to get the message across, then that is what we all should be doing.

There seems to be an epidemic of speeding by adults and young people on our roads to a point where overtaking those driving safely is the norm.

A great deal of credit should be given to those motorists who defy honks or toots to drive faster, while trying to maintain a safe speed.

We need more responsible attitudes to make our roads safer.

Everything must be done to save lives through making road safety one of our highest priorities. This a is a problem that involves every Bermudian.