The Hon. Quinton Edness suspected alcohol or drugs might have been involved in some of the fatal crashes.

And he pointed to a recent survey by road safety campaigners which found drunk driving was the reason for the majority of deaths on Bermuda's roads over the last five years.

But Government Road Safety officer Ms Laura Smith had been unable to determine if drugs were involved in any of the accidents she reviewed, because under current laws Police can only test for alcohol, Mr. Edness pointed out.

The head of the hospital's Emergency Department Dr. Ed Schultz has said he believes alcohol and drugs were involved in a large number of recent traffic accidents, Mr. Edness noted.

But he was also unable to prove it. Police can only use the alco-analyser on people involved in road accidents if they are not taken to hospital.

And they are not allowed to test at all for the presence of drugs such as marijuana and cocaine, Mr. Edness said.

Hospital staff are forbidden to test accident victims for alcohol or drugs.

They must first have the patient's permission, Mr. Edness noted.

"If they are injured and taken to hospital, Police have no authority to test for alcohol or drugs,'' he said.

The requirement was preventing Police from prosecuting people involved in accidents who they suspect of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Mr. Edness said he planned to meet with the Road Safety Council, Transport Ministry officials and the Attorney General's to discuss the proposed law changes.

He was taking an "urgent'' approach to the issue, he said.

"It is important to be able to test for alcohol or drugs in people involved in road accidents for several reasons,'' he said.

"The test results can help determine the cause of accidents. They can help in instances where a civil case is brought after criminal charges.

"And they can enable Police to prosecute people who cause accidents while driving under the influence.'' Mandatory drug and alcohol testing could also prove to be a deterrent for people considering driving under the influence.

Ms Smith, who used Coroner's reports in her study, found more than 50-percent of the 41 fatal accidents she reviewed were alcohol related.

She also learned more than twice the legal amount of alcohol was present in the victims' blood in several cases.

"Thee trend would indicate that there are a great many more people driving while under the influence,'' Road Safety Council chairman Mr. Ramadhin Smith said in commenting on the survey.

Bermuda recorded its fourth, fifth and sixth road traffic fatalities of the year this month.

Mr. Louis Bean, 41, died after losing control of his bike and crashing into a tree and a wall.

Giant Foods owner Mr. George Whitecross, 43, died after his motorcycle was involved in a night-time collision with another bike rider in Smith's Parish.

And Englishman Mr. Colin Jones died after crashing his bike into a wall at Collector's Hill gas station.