The Royal Gazette is launching a major campaign pushing for new laws to make Bermuda’s roads safer.

Drive For Change aims to reduce casualties on our roads after 118 people were killed and nearly 15,000 injuries, many of which were life-changing, in the past ten years.

Our six-month campaign, which starts next week, will build on momentum from the successful 2017 documentary A Piece of the Rock. It will tackle three of the main causes of Bermuda’s needless tragedy: impaired driving, speeding and inadequate driver training.

Watch out for us on Monday morning as we kick off our campaign on East Broadway.

With us will be 118 people, each one representing one of those who have died over the past decade, helping keep their memory alive and advocating for a better way forward.

Drive For Change will push for the introduction of roadside sobriety testing, efficient speed camera technology and a mandatory graduated licensing programme to better prepare our drivers and riders for the roads.

We have partnered with the team at A Piece of the Rock for the campaign, which also has the support of the Bermuda Police Service and Cada.

We know the journey to fixing the problems will not be an easy road.

During the next six months, we will raise awareness of the many issues surrounding road safety. We will speak with those who have lost loved ones, those who have incurred life-changing injuries, and those who have caused death and injury through careless and reckless driving.

We will talk to politicians and lawmakers, the police, the Bermuda Road Safety Council, Cada and anyone with a stake in improving safety on our roads.

We will also be encouraging a grassroots movement so that you, the people of Bermuda, can be a part of the change, by lobbying your MPs while highlighting best practice.

On Monday, the entire Roads Policing Unit will be out in force to mark the launch of Drive for Change and send a strong message to irresponsible road users that enough is enough.

We want you to be a part of the conversation. Look out for details in the coming days of how to get involved.