Fines for minor traffic offences are to be increased in a bid to provide a greater incentive for motorists to be safe on the roads.

Acting Senior Magistrate Carlisle Greaves has hiked up the fines for infractions considered minor, but which he feels could prove extremely dangerous, if not fatal.

From now on, offences such as failing to wear helmets properly and securely, disobeying traffic signs and jumping red lights will receive fines of $250 in Magistrates Court, instead of $50, which has previously been the norm, provided the accused pleads guilty.

Those who plead not guilty and are later found guilty could be fined even more.

Mr. Greaves said yesterday that if the rise still does not dissuade people from breaking these specific laws, then he would consider increasing it again.

Last night, both the Road Safety Council and grieving family members, who have recently lost someone in a road collision, said they were pleased with the increase and said they hoped it would reduce the number of offenders.

However, Mr. Greaves said his decision to bump up the fines had nothing to do with the recent spate of serious and fatal road accidents, which had seen three people killed in ten days and nine fatalities for the year so far.

He warned people in court yesterday that the price of breaking the law had gone up, and said he hoped it would act as a persuasive measure, rather than punishment.

"I took a look at the situation and that fine hasn't been persuasive enough," said Mr. Greaves.

"Currently, the maximum fine for traffic offences is $1,000 and if we see that setting the fine at $250 still doesn't dissuade people, we'll raise it again. The reality is it's inadequate and we need to persuade people to stop."

Mr. Greaves said the new fine would be more in line with offences brought before the court under the umbrella charge of driving without due care and attention.

And he said he believed that charge was more realistic as many of the minor offences could be grouped under that label.

He added: "Jumping a traffic light is really driving without due care and attention and brings serious risk and also riding with your helmet not fastened properly is a dangerous activity and can cause death.

"The increase is just to encourage people to do the right thing. It's not punishment I'm thinking about, it's more persuasion and encouragement."

Yesterday in Plea Court, three people received the new increased fine - one was for improper fastening of a helmet, one for a light infraction and one for a dangerous tyre.

And he promised that anyone else brought before the court for similar offences would be treated in the same way.

He added: "I'm nothing if I'm not consistent. Nobody can accuse me of giving one person one fine and another person a different fine for the same offence, when the facts of the case are the same. Everybody always knows what they are going to get with me because I am always consistent."

Nine people have so far died on the roads of Bermuda this year, three in the space just ten days and nine in total this year.

Six-year-old Tyaisha Cox died after being knocked down as she walked across a pedestrian crossing on her way to summer day camp at Purvis Primary School in Warwick almost two weeks ago. She was on a life support machine for more than a day before being pronounced clinically dead.

Last week, 24-year-old Lloyd Dellano (Stiff) Burch died after he tried to overtake a vehicle in Somerset and collided with an oncoming car.

And Sunday, Alshe Caisey, 20, died after the bike she was a passenger on crashed at high speed on North Shore Road in Smith's.

Deborah Burch, from Somerset, whose son Dellano was killed last week, said she hoped the higher fines would prove to be a deterrent for young motorists.

"I'm really pleased to hear this," she said.

"I saw a young boy with his helmet unfastened on Friday and it seems to be something that frequently happens. I was trying to get up behind him to tell him to fasten it. It's so important, yet these guys don't realise just how dangerous it is."

However, she also urged Police to crackdown on all minor offences and said without tickets being issued, the higher fines in court would count for nothing.

"We all have to do our part, including parents," she added. "But the Police have to do their part or it's not going to work. The Police have to be tough and they have to stop people and arrest people. We are trying to save someone's life."

Chairman of the Road Safety Council Dr. Joseph Froncioni also said he also welcomed the increases.

"I definitely think it's a good thing. I think the fines before were a slap on the wrist," he said.

"We live in a fairly comfortable country and the fine for not wearing a helmet properly was $50, yet the consequences to us financially, as an Island, and emotionally for the families, are devastating when there are accidents.

"It will hurt an awful lot to get a $250 fine, so it may work. After you get your first $250 fine, you may think twice before doing it again."