cause of death among young adults.

In a position paper, the Society, made up of physicians and nurses, called for random breath testing and mandatory drug and alcohol blood testing of all accident-involved drivers, graduated licensing, and mandatory daytime headlights.

Orthapaedic surgeon Dr. Joseph Froncioni said that the position paper presented to Transport Minister the Hon. Wayne Furbert showed road traffic accidents are the major cause of death in young Bermudians aged 15-34.

"The injuries sustained in many of these accidents are exceedingly costly to society and frequently devastating for the individuals involved,'' he said.

"Deaths from road traffic accidents are occurring at a rate of one per month.

"We feel that insufficient attention has been paid to finding workable solutions to decrease the incidences of road traffic accidents.'' Dr. Froncioni added: "The problem of road traffic accidents has been successfully addressed in many other jurisdictions and we feel Bermuda would benefit from adopting some of the counter-measures that have been developed.

"We realise that the problem is multifactorial but its complexity should not deter the community from addressing the problem.'' The paper states that other communities facing the same problem have introduced random breath testing and mandatory drug and alcohol blood testing of all drivers involved in accidents.

"The issue is controversial but must be seriously considered. It has been shown that random drug and alcohol testing is a strong deterrent to drinking and driving and communities on the whole adapt to the change quite rapidly.'' At present alcohol and drug affected drivers involved in road accidents may not have blood alcohol or drug levels drawn in the emergency room unless they specifically grant permission for this procedure and are informed that the results may be used against them in a court of law.

"This society firmly believes that changing the law to allow mandatory blood testing of suspected alcohol or drug affected drivers involved in accidents would no way infringe on the civil liberties of the individuals involved.

"Alcohol and drug-affected drivers constitute a serious health hazard to other road users and in this respect should be identified and dealt with in a more definitive manner.'' The society also believes that graduated licensing would also cut the number of road traffic accidents on the Island.

"It is clear to us that young Bermudians are at exceedingly high risk of sustaining injuries in road accidents,'' the report said. "The reasons for this are myriad but inexperience and the impression of the immortality of youth are certainly contributing factors.'' The paper states that graduated licensing is a system whereby full driving privileges are not granted to an individual until that individual has proven that he or she has sufficient skill and responsibility to be a safe road user.

Basically, a new driver obtains a license after mandatory driver education.

For a number of years, the license gives the driver only limited privileges.

Mandatory daytime headlights, the society said, are currently enforced in many countries throughout the world because it has proven to significantly decrease the rate of road traffic accidents.

"Motorised bikes are the main form of transport in Bermuda and the small size of the Island makes this a necessity. Mile for mile, the motorbike is the most dangerous form of transport that exists,'' it said, noting that bike riders were less protected than car drivers, motorbikes were inherently unstable and inconspicuous -- hence the need for headlights.