More than 60 motorists were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in the first three months of the year — almost double the number arrested in the same period last year.

According to statistics released by the Bermuda Police Service, 66 motorists were stopped for the offence — 14 in January, 27 in February, and 25 in March — compared with 34 in the first three months of 2022.

This continued a trend from 2022 when 194 motorists were arrested for impaired driving, compared with 134 in 2021 and 186 in 2020.

According to Chief Inspector Robert Cardwell, of the Tactical Operations Division, the number of collisions has also “trended upwards”, while serious injury collisions “continue to rise”.

A total of 468 motorists were ticketed for traffic violations last month as part of Operation Vega, a crackdown on poor driving habits launched by the BPS in July 2021.

That figure represents an increase of more than 30 per cent on February when 358 drivers were ticketed.

This included 18 motorists being stopped for handheld device infractions in March, up from three in February.

In addition, 51 official written warnings were issued, and 172 parking tickets were handed out during the month.

More than 240 motorists were stopped for speeding, with one driver recorded travelling at 93km/h.

A further 50 drivers were ticketed for having an unlicensed vehicle — up from 24 in February — while the number of drivers on the road without insurance rose from 21 in February to 46 in March.

Commenting on the statistics, Mr Cardwell said: “In the first quarter of 2023, collision numbers have trended upwards, when compared to the previous year.

“The prevalent reasons for collisions are inattention and carelessness. Bermuda has suffered four fatal collisions in 2023’s first quarter, which is higher than the three fatal collisions recorded in the first quarter of 2022. Serious injury collisions continue to rise.”