Two government ministers have called an “urgent meeting” to respond to a spate of road incidents that have now claimed 12 lives since the start of the year.

A government spokeswoman confirmed that Owen Darrell, the Minister of Tourism, Transport, Culture and Sport, and Ryan Robinson Perinchief, the Minister of National Security, met with others to determine how to address road safety.

The spokeswoman said the Government shared the community’s “deep concern” around serious collisions, two of which took place over the weekend.

She added: “We fully appreciate the anxiety and unease across our community. Our thoughts remain with all individuals and families affected by these recent incidents.

“The Government can confirm that today, the Minister of Transport and Minister of National Security have called an urgent meeting with representatives from transport, national security, the Road Safety Council and the Bermuda Police Service to review the situation and co-ordinate an immediate, whole-of-government response.

“Road safety is a shared responsibility and we are committed to working together to strengthen enforcement, enhance public awareness and identify additional measures to help reduce collisions and save lives.

“As this work progresses, the Government will provide further update.”

The comments came after two motorists were arrested for impaired driving in connection with separate traffic collisions over the weekend.

Police and other first responders had to extricate a woman from a car in the early hours of Saturday after she was involved in a collision with an SUV near the junction of Cataract Hill and South Road in Paget.

The driver sustained life-threatening injuries, while the SUV’s uninjured male driver was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired by alcohol or a drug.

At about 4pm that same day, a flatbed truck and a motorcycle were involved in a collision in Paget near the Harbour Road junction with Chapel Road.

The male rider sustained serious head and back injuries, to which he succumbed in hospital, while his female pillion passenger suffered minor injuries.

The truck driver, who did not report any injuries, was also arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired by alcohol or a drug.

The death took place just a week after police confirmed that a motorcyclist died in hospital a week after a crash in Southampton.

Police and the transport minister have previously warned that fatal collisions occurred in Bermuda roughly once every 31 days, while collisions happened every three or four days.

However, 2026 has now surpassed the previous year’s 11 road deaths and is on track to claim another eight judging by the frequency of incidents.

These projected deaths will surge past 17 road deaths in 2021, the most in 20 years, and would make 2026 the deadliest year for road fatalities since 1975.

Jarion Richardson, the Shadow Minister of National Security, Governance and Artificial Intelligence, previously called for parliamentary support for his Road Traffic and Motor Car (Road Safety and Penalties) Amendment Act 2026.

The Bill, which was tabled last month in the House of Assembly and is awaiting debate, would allow police to conduct roadside sobriety checks without warning and the courts to double penalties for driving offences.

However, Mr Robinson Perinchief warned that the Act would not only punish drivers after the offence had taken place, rendering them ineffective, but create challenges around motorists’ constitutional rights to freedom and privacy.

Instead he suggested using tactics such as “visible and frequent enforcement” and changing attitudes around road safety, while emphasising prevention and personal responsibility.

Mr Richardson said at the weekend that the Bill was intended to “strengthen enforcement, deterrence and consequences while providing safeguards around police powers”.