Immediate action is being taken on road safety, with a broader strategy in place to reduce serious collisions and fatalities by 50 per cent by 2030, according to the transport minister.

At a media briefing outside the Transport Control Department, shortly after the Bermuda Police Service confirmed the thirteenth road fatality of 2026, Owen Darrell said: “There is no single measure that will solve this. Enforcement, legislation, education, safer roads, vehicles and changing behaviours all matter.

“Our road safety strategy sets a clear target of reducing road fatalities and serious injuries by 50 per cent by 2030.

“It is built around five key pillars: intelligence and data, enforcement, engineering, education and behaviour change, as well as governance and accountability.

“We need immediate action, alongside a sustained approach that reduces death as well as serious injuries over time.

“This is a shared responsibility, and we are organised accordingly.”

Darrin Simons, the Commissioner of Police, said patrols to combat motoring offences will be stepped up this weekend as the BPS drafts in officers on overtime as part of a joint effort to make the roads safer.

He also revealed that speed cameras, which are to be operational soon, would eventually be clocking average speed between checkpoints, forcing drivers to slow down over distance.

“We will target the behaviours that most likely lead to death and serious injury. Those are speeding, impaired driving, dangerous and careless driving, cellphone use and unsafe overtaking,” Mr Simons said of the heightened operations.

“Roadside sobriety operations will take place through to the end of this month and will be using a risk-based approach that considers the night-time economy and all of the social events coming up, because we know those are frequent times where people are drinking in particular.”

Mr Simons, Mr Darrell and Ryan Robinson Perinchief, the Minister of National Security, joined representatives of the Bermuda Road Safety Council to address the public.

Mr Darrell was keen to point out that the issue is a shared one, in which responsibility rests with all road users.

He said: “The choices each of us make — whether it be speed, distraction, drinking and driving or how we use our roads — affect everyone around us.

“This, therefore, needs a whole-of-government response as well as a whole-of-Bermuda response.”

Mr Simons pointed out that the island historically averaged 12 road deaths a year but that there were 13 already in 2026.

He said: “Bermuda’s long-term road fatality rate is approximately 19 deaths per 100,000 population. This puts Bermuda at the higher end when compared with other jurisdictions.

“This must be treated as a significant public safety issue. It requires a sustained, joined-up response.”

The police commissioner said that the BPS are working with partners, with whom the service have met, to make sure that their immediate response is co-ordinated and, “just as important, that the long-term focus is properly addressed”.

In an operation on Tuesday, Mr Simons said, officers issued more than 60 tickets, most of which were for speeding.

The commissioner urged members of the public to report dangerous and reckless driving by calling 911.

He said: “Timely reports can help us direct resources and allow us to do things like access CCTV where there is other evidence and respond, sometimes immediately, where circumstances require it and we have the ability to respond.”

He added: “Lasting improvement absolutely requires a change in behaviour, mindset and culture.

“That means recognising that speeding is not normal, driving or riding after drinking is not normal, dangerous overtaking and reckless driving are not normal.

“These behaviours have become too tolerated and they need to become socially unacceptable.”

Mr Robinson Perinchief said the present situation was “untenable”. The national security minister added that he was “urgently reviewing” what more can be done.

However, he noted that there must be some personal responsibility among the wider community.

He said: “The evidence is that increasing enforcement alone does not solve the challenges we face when it comes to road safety.

“The police cannot do it all, the Government cannot control every individual's decision on the roads. There is a role of personal responsibility we must take, and there is a cultural shift that we can help to prompt, but we need to acknowledge this as a shared effort.

“The truth is, this is ultimately a cultural issue and one of shared responsibility, not just one for the Government or the police.”

Mr Robinson Perinchief was asked about the Road Traffic and Motor Car (Road Safety and Penalties) Amendment Act 2026 — a Bill proposed by the Opposition but reportedly claimed by the Government to be a “money” Bill that would carry expenses if passed.

He replied: “I support any measure that will genuinely make Bermuda's roads safer. When it comes to that Bill, I’ve made my comments public in that the data around traffic safety and safety policy is that enforcement and harsher penalties do not result in a reduction when it comes to fatalities and road harm.”

Mr Robinson Perinchief added that there may be a review of policy, including looking at penalties and infractions, but that a Bill doubling penalties may just be a “public appeasement measure”.

In a message to road users, Mr Simons said: “Slow down. Put the phone away. Wear your helmet and seatbelt. Do not overtake dangerously.

“Do not drive or ride impaired. And do not allow someone else to do the same.”