Bermuda's roads may have reached "saturation point'' in peak hour causing a surge in road rage and deaths, the chief traffic planner has claimed.

And residents, who regularly travelled the busiest routes and as such were some of the Island's most informed transport experts, would be consulted in a series of public meetings along the breadth of the Island to start as early as April.

The leader of the team charged with coordinating Bermuda's 21st century transport plan, Larry Jacobs, made the comments at Hamilton Lions Club meeting yesterday as he outlined the process to find traffic solutions.

He said the issue was vital to the tourism industry since visitors often chose their holiday destination to escape the stresses of heavy traffic.

And many people already perceived the worsening road congestion was linked to a deterioration in their quality of life.

"Most will agree that it is more crowded and dangerous to drive today than it was just a few years ago,'' Mr. Jacobs told the meeting.

"And think of Bermuda from the perspective of our visitors. They arrive from urban areas where they think the pace of life is more hectic than here.

"They arrive expecting a more relaxed and laid-back travel experience.

Instead, they often find crowded and noisy streets.'' He said conditions would get even worse as the flow of traffic into Hamilton each day thickened when planned office developments were completed.

Developing a National Transportation Plan which provided a real alternative to private cars would take at least 18 months and integrate fares and timetables for bus, ferry, mini-bus, taxi and airport services.

He said decreasing road usage would in turn ease fatalities, road rage and accidents.

Annual deaths on Bermuda's roads have risen from none 50 years ago to 13 so far this year as licensed vehicles have increased from 1,890 to 50,000.

"People get frustrated when they can't get where they want as quickly as they used to and their reaction to that stress is sometimes to lash out -- so we see more road rage and accidents,'' he said.

Research on the current usage of buses, ferries, taxis and roads would be carried out over the next six months before extensive public consultation.

TRANSPORTATION TRA TRAFFIC TFC