At least 100 tickets were issued by police in little more than 24 hours as enforcement on the island’s roads was stepped up over the weekend.

It was announced last week, soon after the thirteenth road fatality of 2026 was confirmed, that extra officers would be drafted in on overtime to target traffic offences, particularly those most likely to lead to death and serious injury.

Darrin Simons, the Commissioner of Police, said then that those include speeding, impaired driving, dangerous and careless driving, mobile phone use and unsafe overtaking.

The Bermuda Police Service later revealed that between 4pm on Friday and 7am on Saturday, 75 tickets were issued, with 60 of those for speeding.

“One person was clocked at 92 kilometres per hour,” they added. “If that wasn’t troubling enough, there were also two arrests for impaired driving.”

Hours later, Acting Chief Inspector Anthony Smith hosted a reporter and photographer from The Royal Gazette on a BPS patrol so that they could witness first-hand the efforts under way to make roads — and the island as a whole — safer for all residents and visitors.

Within 60 minutes, 16 tickets were issued for speeding and an arrest was made over an outstanding warrant.

At a spot on Kindley Field Road, St George’s, Mr Smith noted the licence plates of vehicles and checked them against a database for breaches, such as no licence or insurance, or warrants for other offences.

When anything was flagged, the matter was communicated by radio to a team farther along the road and the motorists were pulled over.

In one case of a man on a motorcycle, a warrant showed up in connection with an alleged offence of issuing threatening words.

A search took place at the roadside where officers discovered a knife, narcotics, drug paraphernalia and an opened bottle of alcohol.

The man was arrested — his weekend over in anticipation of a court appearance.

Yet event the administration for this policing would have an impact, as the bike had to be transported to a station pound while another officer was needed to process the arrest.

After about ten minutes the patrol crew moved on, as motorists were flashing their lights to warn oncoming traffic of the police presence.

Then came a trip to Rocky Hill Park, in the same parish, where a traffic laser gun was used to identify speeding drivers before police on motorbikes fastened onto their targets and pursued the culprits to issue tickets.

As the day drew towards a close, officers were informed via radio of an injured man on the roadside after coming off his bike at Hermitage Road, Devonshire.

With lights and sirens activated, the team zipped to the scene, also attended by other emergency service crews.

Fortunately, the rider was helped to his feet and into a waiting ambulance where further checks were carried out before a trip to hospital. He was later discharged with minor injuries.

At the end of the shift there had been five minor road incidents with three people injured — none life-threatening — and two damaged vehicles.

A total of 25 tickets were issued, comprising 16 for speeding and nine for a variety of offences including unlicensed and uninsured vehicles, running stop signs and a tourist with an unfastened helmet — and no shirt — while riding an auxiliary cycle.

Mr Smith said that the police activity was not only about arrests, but also about education, “like warning the topless tourist”.

He added: “He was not stopped for having no top, it was an unfastened helmet, but also advised of the injuries he’d sustain coming off the bike onto the road with no shirt.”

Throughout the Gazette’s participation on Saturday, perhaps the most stark reminder of why the enforcement activity is so critical was at the police headquarters in Prospect, where the day began.

During a tour of the unit, a number of trashed vehicles were seen, many with smashed windscreens, air bags deployed and lots of twisted metal.

Mr Smith hauled up the metal shutters to what is dubbed “Fatal Bay”, where broken, battered and discarded motorbikes told an unnerving story. “Most of these were involved in fatalities,” he said.

Figures suggest that on average, there is a road death every 31 days in Bermuda.

Owen Darrell, the transport minister, said last week: “Our road safety strategy sets a clear target of reducing road fatalities and serious injuries by 50 per cent by 2030.”

Mr Simons then asked members of the public to report dangerous and reckless driving by calling 911.

He said on Wednesday: “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.”

In a message to all motorists over the weekend, the BPS urged: “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 you care about to do so.”