A renewed call for tough action on Bermuda's road crisis has come from the Opposition after the first fatality of 2009.

James Robert Smith, 24, was killed after his motorcycle hit a parked car close to his Somerset home in the early hours of Friday morning.

In a statement sending his deep condolences to Mr. Smith's family, Senator and the UBP's Shadow Transport spokesman Michael Fahy said: "The first road death of 2009 comes less than two weeks after the last two road deaths of 2008, one of the highest years for road fatalities in Bermuda's history.

"While we appreciate the fact that Police are increasing their presence on our roads to encourage safer driving practices, it remains clear to us that not enough is being done to change road behaviour.

"The United Bermuda Party and lobbyists have been pushing for certain measures that have been proven in other jurisdictions to improve road safety. These measures include speed cameras, road lighting, traffic calming and random sobriety tests.

"This does not have to become a politicised issue, but we feel it is vital that the Government outline a time-driven plan of action to implement road safety measures. We would like to see some kind of response to our proposals. Telling people to slow down is not enough."

On Thursday, the Police announced a fresh crackdown on bad driving, after 2008 was the worst year in a decade for road deaths, with 17 lives lost.

Among the measures planned are more roads policing officers, more officers trained to use speed detectors, an anti drink-driving media campaign and roadside alco-analyser testing instead of taking people to the Police station.

In addition, the service is hoping the law will be changed to allow officers to stop people even if they aren't suspected to be impaired. Current legislation only allows officers to stop drivers if they are showing signs of impairment.