Two more families are mourning the loss of loved ones today after the road deaths this week of Vernell Eugene Smith and David Small Jr. It goes without saying that the thoughts of the whole community are with them at their time of loss. Their deaths now mean that 15 people have died on the Island's roads this year, an unacceptably high figure for the Island's population.

If there were no more fatalities this year, it would still equate to a rate of 23 deaths per 100,000 people, which is among the worst in the world. By comparison, Malta had 3.2 deaths per 100,000 people, the best of the 50-odd countries considered in a 2004 study, the United Kingdom had 5.3, Canada had 8.5 and the US had 14.5.

If the current trend continues, this will be one of the worst years on record for road fatalities, many of them, as Premier Dr. Ewart Brown said, avoidable. The rate of road accidents this year has remained stubbornly high, with an average of almost 20 collisions resulting in injury and 38 in damage only occurring each week since March.

To Government's credit, it has promised this year to introduce graduated licensing for young riders, which should help to reduce the collision rate, and over time, fatalities as well.

Still, there's more to be done, and this newspaper again urges Government to go back to Dr. Joseph Froncioni's recommendations for more approaches to road safety.

It is worth noting that almost all the fatalities and serious injuries have involved motorcycle riders. There are two reasons for that. One is that a motorcycle rider is completely exposed in a collision, whereas a person in a car can be protected by the vehicle itself. The other is mandatory seat belts which has reduced injuries dramatically.

So what more needs to be done? Plenty.

First, the Police, who admittedly are overburdened, need to become a more visible presence on the roads again, both in terms of setting speed traps and stopping people for suspected impaired driving. And why, after almost a decade of talking about it, have no speed cameras been installed? It has been said before, but especially in the holiday season, traffic checks at the exits from Hamilton make sense. Whatever inconvenience is caused is far outweighed by the lives saved. Proper helmet standards and enforcement are also key; as Dr. Froncioni has said, a helmet which is unstrapped or does not meet high safety standards is about as much good as wearing no helmet alone.

Bermuda has introduced a demerit system for road offences, but no one seems to know how effective it has been.

Finally, this newspaper is concerned that the actual power of motorbikes, even those with 50cc engines, has vastly increased in the last couple of decades. There is simply no comparison between the Mobylettes and Cyruses that older Bermudians recall with at least some fondness and today's mopeds, let alone those with 80cc and 100cc engines.

And yet, at the same time, Bermuda has actually allowed 125cc bikes to be imported again. At the risk of angering the "Harley Davidson" riders, many of whom are extremely safe and experienced riders, Bermuda should consider banning all bikes above 80cc. They are simply too powerful – and the temptation to speed is too easy – for Bermuda's small roads.