overlooked new laws introducing blanket bans.

Motorists found guilty must now be banned from all classes of vehicles, instead of just individual categories like 50cc bikes.

And the Road Safety Council is calling for more action to clamp down on dangerous drivers, starting with an inquiry into how Magistrates missed the new laws for weeks.

The law was introduced in January but copies of the amendment only landed at Magistrates' Court earlier this month, so many offenders slipped away from total bans.

But Attorney General Elliot Mottley said defendants could find themselves back in courts -- if Police asked for appeals on a case-by-case basis.

He said: "It's not out of the question that their punishments could be changed.

"But that would be a matter for the Police to appeal individual cases.'' Bermuda's roads have claimed four lives in traffic accidents already this year.

Road Safety Council chairman George Morton Jr. said work was already underway on a new, comprehensive traffic campaign.

He added: "One thing we're very worried about is allowing a lot of these people to stay on the roads. We are now looking into why many of them were only banned from certain vehicle classes.

"And although we are relying on the natural processes, the Transport Minister has said he will investigate this too.

"We are expressing these concerns as a Council and we all want to know why there was a lapse.'' Mr. Morton said the Council was beginning to step up its offensive on bad driving after this year's worrying toll of road deaths.

"We offer our humble condolences to the relatives of all those killed in road accidents,'' said Mr. Morton.

"We have been silent as a Council so far this year. But behind the scenes, we are putting together a comprehensive programme looking at tightening up even more traffic laws, starting more media advertising and introducing year-long awareness campaigns instead of just at holiday time.

"We want ongoing improvements to the legislation and those areas where people might see loopholes.

"There is also an idea to have more public speaking and research into safety programmes.'' He said the Council was also pushing for a new Road Safety Officer, following the resignation of Delcina Bean Burrows last autumn.

And Mr. Morton said TCD director Donald Dane and Transport Minister Wayne Furbert were now working to secure a replacement.

He added that the proposed new campaign would be discussed when the 13-member council meets next Thursday.

Mr. Furbert said: "I have written to the Chief Justice to express our concern that magistrates did not apply the new law.

Appeal driving bans "But that's mostly as much as I can do. It's really up to the judiciary and prosecutors to take any further action but I suppose what's done is done.

"It's our job to make the laws and see to it that the traffic regulations are as safe as possible.'' The latest road death victim was 27-year-old Mark North, known as Snowy, whose bike was involved in a head-on collision with a van on Middle Road, Southampton, last week.

A week earlier, 32-year-old Rudy Parris was killed when he drove his car into a tree on Barker's Hill Devonshire.

James Stowe, a 26-year-old father-of-two, died when he lost control of his bike on St. John's Road, Pembroke, at the end of February.

And 42-year-old Gladwin Smith was killed in mid-February after crashing his bike near the Port Royal fire station on Middle Road, Southampton.

DRUGS DGS