A former Road Safety Council chairman is calling for a ban on alcohol for drivers of public transport after a ferry pilot admitted being more than twice over the legal limit.

Dr. Joseph Froncioni, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, wants Government to introduce a law banning consumption of alcohol for bus drivers and ferry pilots. It follows an accident on December 21 in which a ferry pilot was found to have between 262 and 264 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood – more than two and a half times the limit.

Dwayne Pearman, 37, pleaded guilty to being more than twice over the limit when he appeared at Magistrates' Court on Monday. The court heard he crashed the J.L. Cecil Smith ferry into Rockaway dock with 60 passengers on board, damaging the bow railing of the boat and dock in the process.

Pearman, an employee of Marine and Port Services, is due to be sentenced on Tuesday.

Under Bermuda law, the legal limit for ferry pilots is 100 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, compared to 80 milligrams for drivers of motor vehicles. But last night Dr. Froncioni dismissed this as nonsensical.

"Any level of blood alcohol causes impairment — a decrease in one's ability to perform complex mental or motor functions," he said. "While drivers of private vehicles on our roads are considered impaired with alcohol levels greater than 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood, pilots at the helm of public ferries are not considered impaired unless their blood alcohol level is greater than 100 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood. This makes no sense at all.

"Ferry pilots are responsible not only for their multi-tonne vessels, but more importantly also for the safety and welfare of all those aboard the craft.

"The pilot bears a much heavier burden of responsibility than the operator of a private vehicle. It stands to reason therefore that no degree of impairment should be tolerated for operators of public service transport on water or on land."

Dr. Froncioni, of Pembroke, said: "To allow more diminished capacity for someone who has in his charge paying passengers, whom he has to transport safely and comfortably, is absolutely ludicrous to me.

"I would urge Government therefore to consider amending the appropriate laws to make it illegal for a driver of public service transport to have any alcohol in their blood while performing his or her duties."

On December 21, Pearman, of Hook and Ladder Lane, Sandys had picked up 60 passengers at 5.30 p.m. in Hamilton on the J.L. Cecil Smith. As he approached the arm of the Rockaway Ferry dock, the assistant pilot, who was in the cockpit at the time, had asked Pearman: "Do you see it?" To which Pearman replied: "I've got it."

Missing the end of the arm, Pearman tried to throw the boat in reverse, but the momentum was too strong and he rammed into the dock. Luckily none of the 60 passengers were injured, but the vessel was damaged.

The bow railing and the underside of the foredeck were punctured, which will cost almost $1,000 to repair, according to a spokesperson. Estimates on the cost of the damage to the breakwater at Rockaway which included, the navigational light, rubber fendering and a piece of concrete from the dock surface have not yet been determined.

The assistant pilot took the helm to return to Hamilton, where Pearman was arrested after officers found him spraying himself with air freshener and unsteady on his feet.