Bermuda's mopeds came as no surprise to us. It is clear that traffic on Bermuda's roads has become faster. The vehicles, especially taxis, have become larger. Drivers, however, appear to have become more considerate of each other. As we see it, our roads are no longer suited to couples doing a leisurely if wobbly sightseeing tour by cycle.

Visitors came to Bermuda and rented mopeds because they were cheap and easy.

Mopeds are still cheap compared to taxis but they are certainly not easy to ride on these roads. Like any other vehicle, they are safe if used carefully by an experienced person but very few of the visitors are really experienced in riding a motorised cycle in traffic on what to them is the wrong side of the road.

We all know what happens. Couples set off on two mopeds, the man in front dangerously looking back for the woman. The woman does not want to ride so she travels pillion with an inexperienced man on a light cycle and they wobble down the road.

As Bermudians we see these situations and others like them every day. We know what awful things can happen. We hold our breath and hope for safety. Or we hope they will not hit us. Or we hope they will not hit the wall. Too often they do crash.

We think visitors have too many accidents. There is real truth in the accusations by MP Mr. David Allen that too often visitors are given too little instruction before they are allowed to ride off.

Accusations tend to arise when there have been nasty crashes but in general too many visitors suffer road rash and other non-life threatening but painful injuries.

We think that people who rent cycles have to take great care before they hand over cycles to visitors and they have to resist the temptation to take a quick dollar without proper instruction. If cycle renters do not do that, they are endangering their own business because the day will come when there will be no rental to visitors.

It seems to us that too many cycle liveries are beside main roads and it is difficult in main road traffic to give adequate instruction. It may be that all liveries should have traffic free instruction areas. One solution would be for all visitors to go to those areas that do exist for instruction and not to have cycles dropped off at guest houses, with or without instruction.

Mr. David Panchaud, the spokesman for cycle liveries, seems to us to understand the problem. He says that with the cycle liveries "some are conscientious while others are not''. We totally agree when Mr. Panchaud says: "Liveries should realise that working to make it safer for tourists to ride the cycles would increase business in the long run. By minimising the problem it seems they are actually losing business.''