Road safety campaigners last night called for a 24-hour Police presence throughout Bermuda to tackle an “epidemic” of fatal accidents.

Motorbike pillion passenger Tristan Codrington, 23, from Sandys, became the Island’s eighth road fatality of 2007 when he died in hospital on Saturday, two days after suffering head injuries in an horrific late-night crash.

Mr. Codrington’s death keeps Bermuda on course to record one of its worst ever years for road fatalities.

Reacting last night, Bermuda Road Safety Council chairman Christopher Johnson said: “We are in the midst of an epidemic and our public awareness campaigns and increased police surveillance are seemingly powerless.

“We can no longer stand idly by as primarily young men perish before our eyes.

“I am asking every member of the public to contact the Police Commissioner and the Minister of Public Safety to insist upon the return of the Traffic Division and an immediate increase in 24-hour Police presence in every parish.”

Dr. Johnson said he fears Bermuda’s road death tally will rise to 20 by the end of 2007 if instant action is not taken — a prediction already made by Police spokesman Dwayne Caines earlier this year.

In 2006, there were 14 road fatalities on the Island.

The last time Bermuda suffered more road deaths in one calendar year was 1998, when 17 lost their lives.

Police say Mr. Codrington was the passenger on a motorbike which collided with a car as it travelled west along Mangrove Bay Road, Sandys, on Thursday, at 11.25 p.m. The accident happened near to the road’s junction with East Shore Road, as the car was exiting the Somerset Country Squire.

Mr. Codrington was taken to the Intensive Care Unit of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries on Saturday morning. The motorbike driver, a 21-year-old St. George’s woman, sustained injuries to her right arm and left leg in the smash. She was also to taken to KEMH before being released.

The driver of the car, an 18-year-old Sandys man, was not injured. He was arrested on suspicion of impaired driving and taken to Hamilton Police Station, but he passed an alco-analyser test and was released.

All eight people who have died following accidents on Bermuda’s roads this year have been men. Of these, six have been aged between 20 and 30.

“First and foremost, the Bermuda Road Safety Council wishes to extend its deepest condolences to the family of Mr. Codrington,” said Dr. Johnson. “We grieve with his family and friends. This tragedy was, no doubt, preventable.”

Calling for the public to contact Police Commissioner George Jackson and Public Safety Minister David Burch to address the issue, he continued: “I cannot think of a more urgent public safety issue before us.

“Without a swift and immediate intervention, we will witness 20 deaths before the end of the year; lamentably, all of those potential deaths are preventable.”

Efforts to improve awareness of road safety this year include the Road Safety Council’s “Choose Life” campaign, supported by Police, which has encouraged people affected by fatalities to share their experiences with others.

Responding last night, Senator Burch extended his "sincerest condolences" to Mr. Codrington's family.

Sen. Burch urged all motorists, especially young people, to exercise extreme caution when travelling on Bermuda's roads.

"While I can appreciate the sentiments of the Road Safety Council, we in the Ministry are of the belief that an additional Police presence is not the full solution," he said.

"There needs to be a shift in attitude when it comes to travelling on our roads by young and old people alike. There must be an appreciation for life by all of our motorists and, until that happens, we will continue to have these disturbing statistics."

Bermuda Police Service released a statement expressing their condolences to Mr. Codrington’s family and friends.

They also asked for witnesses to get in touch with P.c. Melissa Iris at Somerset Police Station on 234-1010.

Mr. Codrington was sentenced to three-and-a-half years behind bars last September after pleading guilty to conspiracy in a plot believed to have brought $45 million worth of cannabis into Bermuda.

His lawyer Rick Woolridge Jr. later appealed unsuccessfully for the plea to be thrown out, arguing that no-one else had been convicted of conspiracy — and it would be impossible for Mr. Codrington alone to be judged guilty of the offence.

Following sentencing, Mr. Woolridge said he would launch an appeal against both the conviction and the sentence.

Road safety chief voices concern over fatalities ‘epidemic’