Police are looking at ways to enforce an existing law making it illegal to serve alcohol to intoxicated persons.

Bartenders and wait staff were warned of the intent in an information session held yesterday.

Organised by Police, the Road Safety Council, CADA and the Ministry of Tourism and Transport, the meeting was also attended by restaurant and nightclub employees in a bid to address the Island's poor habits.

Those present were told by Police Constable Scott Devine, that officers are actively working on possible courses of action that would see the legislation put into effect a move they feel could minimise the number of alcohol-related road accidents here.

According to Police statistics there were 2,458 collisions in 2008, with 95 people who were suspected of drinking and or had been using drugs at the scene.

"This law has been in place in 1976 however no one has ever been arrested," he said.

Constable Devine added that at this point, Police are working on taking a more positive step to engage nightclub, bars and restaurants owners and employees as partners, through training and educating them on what steps are available and what the law outlines.

CADA'S Chairman Anthony Santucci encouraged the servers to participate in the Training for Intervention Procedures (TIPS), a one-day programme which utilises video presentation, discussions, simulation and role playing exercises on intervention of alcohol related situation.

"Some of you may know that the Ministry of Culture and Social Rehabilitation, Department for National Drug Control's master Plan and Action plan call for mandating that each licensed establishment must have at least one manager and one or two staff members certified in the TIPS programme as a requirement for renewal of their liquor licence," he said.

He added: "This mandate is expected to be in place by the April 2010 liquor license renewal period. So by taking the training in June, your establishment will be preparing for this new liquor licence requirement."

Recently the Road Safety Council launched a guerrilla campaign when they posted graphic images of road accident victims in bars and restaurants.

Chairman Dr. Christopher Johnson said there were two focus groups conducted to measure the effectiveness the posters had on the community. He noted that they were very effective, however some felt the images were too harsh.

Dr. Johnson said the images were intended to have this reaction on the public but is currently working on softening the images so they are more palatable. He reminded however, that although the images are not easy to look at, in his capacity of physician, he has worked on an alarming number of patients who have suffered from life threatening and debilitating injuries, which were totally unavoidable.

Premier Ewart Brown, who is also the Minister of Tourism and Transport thanked the attendees and told them that their presence at the meeting showed their commitment to finding a solution that protects the community from premature funerals.

He said: "I have accepted that we cannot legislate people's personal choices and behaviours, but that does not mean that we give up. Every time we lose a life or someone is seriously injured on our roads it affects our entire community and as a community we must work together to find a better result.

"We all know that many Bermudians like to drink, and I am by no means saying that people should not drink at all. However, we want people to be responsible and for you as bartenders and servers to be aware of the people you are serving.

"If you notice that someone does not seem fit to drive, ask them how they are getting home, offer to call them a taxi or ask them if there is a designated driver you can call to collect them. We say in Tourism the best kind of visitor is a repeat visitor. I'm sure the same goes for your business. None of us wants to be in the business of losing customers we want all of our customers to return."