Police said today they are bringing the Roads Policing Unit up to strength to help crackdown on poor driving.

At a press conference this afternoon, Police said they recognised “that we have not had a full compliment of officers in the Roads Policing Unit”.

Assistant Commissioner Mike Jackman said: “However now that we have additional resources we have started to bring the Unit up to strength so that they can more robustly address road issues.”

The announcement comes in the wake of 17 road deaths last year — the worst number for a decade.

Mr. Jackman added: “Last year will be remembered as one of the most tragic in recent years as far as road fatalities are concerned after 17 individuals lost their lives.

“This is a clear indicator that we as a community must do things differently. There have been many conversations at various levels identifying what should be done to decrease the collisions on our roads and to reduce the number of fatalities.”

He said the service was “changing the internal culture of the Bermuda Police” so that “every officer becomes actively involved in the reduction of collisions”.

And Mr. Jackman said: “More officers at Hamilton Police Station, Somerset Police Station and Southside Police Station will be trained to use speed detection devices so that they can actively participate in the Service's quest to reduce collisions and bad road behaviour.”

* See the full story in tomorrow’s Royal Gazette.