Junior Minister of Transport, Senator Wayne Caines last night, refused to make road safety a 'political football' and reiterated the Government's commitment to educating the public.

The senator was responding to criticism levelled by the United Bermuda Party (UBP) Chairman Michael Fahy in a Letter to the Editor printed in today's paper.

Mr. Fahy pounced on the word "helpless" and Mr. Caines' plea to the public to heed the warnings, saying these amounted to the Government being unable to deal with road safety.

The UBP Chairman then outlines the ten initiatives that the UBP believes should be used to save lives in the future.

Last night Mr. Caines, however, said the Government is working with the Road Safety Council and would continue the education campaign they had started.

He said: "I will not allow such a critical issue to become a political football. We will continue to work diligently to deal with the outstanding incidents on our roads.

"We have seen the suggestions submitted by the Road Safety Council. The suggestions will follow the normal consultative process.

"We will continue the education campaign, inclusive of Public Service Announcements, commercials and by other non-traditional means.

"We cannot do it alone. We need the support of the entire country. Ride and drive responsibly. Do not drink and drive. Choose Life."

In his letter Mr. Fahy states that speed cameras, a national policing priority, review road maintenance policy, expanding the bus timetable, a visible police presence with performance indicators, community beat officers, GPS-based computer aided dispatching system, review police manpower and expand the CCTV network.

He said: "The following initiatives (each of which was contained in the United Bermuda Party's 2007 Agenda for Change) may not have saved those who have sadly died on our roads in the past few months, but I believe they would have gone a long way to saving the lives of others in the future."

Mr. Caines, however, added that the Road Safety Council is working on and has worked on at least seven initiatives which include a Graduated Licence Programme for Initial Drivers and amendments to the Road Traffic Action Section (35).

The Road Safety Council has also visited schools to warn students about safe driving and Project Ride has received more funding from Government.

Mr. Caines added that a town-hall meeting will also be held on Thursday, May 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. to address the Challenges & Solutions for road safety.