Bermuda has suffered nine road fatalities this year, putting it on track to be one of the deadliest in the past decade.

Five people have died in shooting incidents this year, sparking island-wide concern and concerted action from the police, the Governor and the Government.

That is as it should be, and this newspaper has supported the actions taken.

Yet despite almost double the number of road fatalities, there has been little or no concern.

While murder and violent deaths suggest premeditation, and the public rightly demand action, the lives lost on the roads are just as valuable. Families and friends grieve as deeply over lost loved ones, and these deaths leave a vacuum that cannot be filled.

But public concern outside of the immediate circles of those who have been killed seems to be muted.

Whether this is because it is simply considered to be the price the community pays for its poor driving habits or the public are simply numbed to the deaths is hard to say. But it is unacceptable. It is not trite to say that one death is too many, but as many as one per month or a dozen a year should be grounds for calls for mass action.

What makes this worse is that almost all of these deaths are avoidable, caused by inattention, high speeds on small roads or simply bad driving.

It is no coincidence that virtually all of the deaths are of people on motorcycles, especially since the introduction of mandatory seatbelt laws almost entirely eliminated car deaths. That’s because bike riders have almost no protection from other vehicles or the road itself.

Road deaths are only one part of the tragedy of Bermuda’s fatal roadways. Many more people receive severe injuries, often condemning them to life in a wheelchair or to brain damage. The emotional cost and the loss of productive lives for decades is the worst part of this, but the economic cost to the community is also devastating.

Thirty years after speed cameras were first discussed, they will be finally introduced next year. Darren Simons, the Commissioner of Police, rightly says they will improve driving, and they should be introduced with urgency. Mr Simons also said the delay was because of the need for law changes; Michael Weeks, the minister responsible for public safety, should make this a priority for his already busy ministry.

Many other measures can be taken to make Bermuda’s roads safer. These have been well aired over the years, and virtually nothing has been done, even as driving behaviour worsened, as the commissioner himself attested.

Some of those recommended by readers in this newspaper include:

• Steeper penalties for persistent driving offenders, including longer bans, higher fines and taking the driver’s vehicle off the road

• Strengthen the points system

• Payment of fines in court or be remanded in custody

• More random sobriety tests and a heightened police presence generally

• Better driver training. New moped and motorcycle riders never drive on the road until they have passed their tests and received their licences. Project Ride is a start, but only that

Bermuda’s speed limit is frequently discussed, but nothing ever happens. Virtually no one drives at 20mph or 35km/h — the speed limit — and it is rarely enforced until drivers are clocked at double that rate.

Many people, including this newspaper, have argued the speed limit should be raised and then rigidly enforced, ending the farce that exists now.

It is worth noting that in almost all of London, the speed limit is rarely more than 30mph, is always enforced and despite extremely high levels of traffic, there were 110 road deaths in Greater London in 2024. That equates to 1.2 deaths per 100,000 people. By comparison, Bermuda had seven deaths in 2023 — a low year by Bermuda’s standards — which equates to about ten deaths per 100,000 people. That is almost ten times London’s rate.

On that basis, the real answer to reducing road deaths is not a major increase in the speed limit but better enforcement.

Nineteen speed cameras are to be introduced next year, which is slightly more than two per parish. This number should be at least doubled. Lives are at stake.