It’s welcome news that steps are finally being taken to get a grip on Bermuda’s out-of-control driving. Darrin Simons, the Commissioner of Police, is pushing ahead with the installation of speed cameras in almost 30 locations. Altonio Roberts, the chairman of the Bermuda Road Safety Council, has announced a new road safety strategy with a focus on education and using data to identify danger areas.

Most recently, Jarion Richardson, the shadow national security minister, has tabled legislation which would double many driving penalties and would also remove the requirement for the police to give advance notice of where they plan to conduct roadside sobriety checks.

All of these plans and ideas are welcome. For too long, calls for better driving and improved road safety have seemingly fallen on deaf ears, while collisions, deaths and serious injuries have continued to rise.

Death and serious injuries are the most visible results of poor driving. It does not take into account the high financial and human costs. For the year to date, nine people have died on the road, putting the island on track for one of the worst years ever.

So, anything that is done now is welcome. Nonetheless, it is still fair to ask whether the steps being taken are enough, and whether the approach to road safety is being coordinated.

Perhaps the most significant step being taken is the long-awaited implementation of speed cameras, which is supposed to begin in September once the necessary legislation is passed.

Several questions remain to be answered on this, most notably setting the speed at which an offence will be recorded and tickets issued. Bermuda has an official speed limit of 35km/h, which is almost universally ignored. Generally, the Bermuda Police Service issue tickets for speeds above 50km/h. The question is whether this will be applied for speed cameras as well.

Thirty cameras are also unlikely to be enough. There is evidence that the cameras reduce collisions and in the immediate area around them, but not in areas more than 500 yards away. That suggests that 30 cameras, or slightly more than three in every parish, will not be enough.

Mr Simons is also right to state that the administration of the system must be established before it comes into effect. Speed cameras will be of little use if tickets are not issued or penalties are not enforced.

The latter point is important. Not only do too many residents drive badly, there is often little effort to ensure those who break the law actually appear in court and when they do, that they pay their fines and obey their bans where they are applied.

Speed cameras and traffic calming measures have demonstrably reduced collisions and injuries in the UK, where they fell by 30 per cent in a decade between 2014 and 2024.

With that in mind, the Bermuda Road Safety Council’s decision to adapt the UK’s “Safe System” approach and London’s Vision Zero programme is to be welcomed. Bad driving is not unique to Bermuda, and the island can learn from other countries successes.

The Safe System philosophy emphasises speed controls, road infrastructure and vehicle design and safety as three equally important parts of road safety, all of which have a part to play.

That means enforcing driving laws, making sure that roads are safe — including eliminating potholes and ensuring barriers and guardrails are in place — and ensuring that vehicles are safe can all reduce deaths and injuries, as well as collisions.

Where Bermuda is unusual in having a higher proportion of mopeds and motorcycles, and now e-bikes, than other Western countries. This means there should be a greater emphasis on safe driving habits for bikes, which are manifestly more dangerous to the driver than cars.

The Bermuda Road Safety Council must take the lead in better driver education while it is up to the Government to ensure that the vehicles that are permitted on Bermuda’s roads are safe. This includes requiring licensing, helmets and age limits for e-bikes, which can now go as fast as any motorcycle or car. They are literally accidents waiting to happen.

It is also the Government’s responsibility to ensure Bermuda’s narrow roads and roads infrastructure are safe. This includes filling potholes, making sure fences and barriers are in good repair, signs are in good repair and legible and that there are traffic-calming measures in place. Even though people don't like speed bumps and the like, they work.

Mr Richardson’s proposed legislation, which could be debated today in the House of Assembly is welcome, especially in the face of Government inaction.

He is right that it makes no sense for the police to be forced to advertise where they are conducting sobriety checks; this simply encourages drink drivers to take alternative routes. The value of random spot checks is that drivers do not know where they will occur and they therefore do not drive around, which is the real point.

He is also right to push for increased penalties for driving offences. It seems clear that the existing penalties are not having any kind of deterrent effect. However, as with speed cameras, it is not clear now if this is because the penalties are too low or because they are not being enforced — whether that is on the roads or in the courts.

But rather than wait what could be years to try to prove which part — non-enforcement or low penalties — is not working, it makes sense to raise the penalties now, especially for impaired driving, which is a part of too many collisions now.

It is not too late for Bermuda to stop 2026 becoming the deadliest year on the roads in decades. But it will take a concerted effort by all parts of the community to make it happen.

It would be nice to think that drivers will wake up tomorrow and decide to be more responsible. But given that is unlikely to happen, the police, Bermuda Road Safety Council and elected officials must come together now, to change attitudes and save lives.

It is not too late to make a difference.