A plastic and reconstructive surgeon who daily sees the consequences of road accidents in Bermuda has called last weekend?s high level of crashes and injuries a ?public health crisis?.

Dr. Christopher Johnson, the new chairman of the Road Safety Council, said that just looking at what had happened on the Island?s roads over the weekend showed the extent of the challenge ahead to educate people about the dangers of bad or irresponsible behaviour when they ride a motorbike or drive a car.

Describing the challenge as ?extremely awesome,? he said: ?I consider it a public health crisis what happened this weekend. I stand on the front line of this issue because I am the only reconstructive surgeon in Bermuda and I?m really charged with putting people back together and I would like to be a little less busy, personally.

?I would also like to see fewer people die, fewer people be maimed and suffer from long standing disability because of what is largely a preventable disease.?

Last weekend?s spate of road accidents included a car crashing into a Paget house injuring four young people, a motorcyclist seriously injured on North Shore Road after hitting a roadside pillar, a car crashing through a wall at the roundabout at the bottom of Trimingham Hill and a motorcyclist being critically injured while attempting to overtake a car on Frog Lane.

Despite the bleak weekend of accidents, Dr. Johnson sees reason for optimism. He said: ?The great thing about Bermuda is the strength of the individuals and the community and we need to harness that in order to decrease what I?m seeing and what everyone is reading about in the papers.?

Along with new Road Safety Officer Michael Fox, and other members of his team, Dr. Johnson said there was a clear understanding of the gravity of the task ahead.

He said: ?Most of the accidents we see have to do with behaviour and can any of us really change the behaviour of a young man or woman who chooses to take risks or take alcohol and get on a bike or in a car? No. We can?t really get inside their heads and change it.

?What we can do is get the message out there and it needs to be done on a frequent basis and we need to harness policy, advise the Government and get this message out.?

And pointing to the family and wider community as playing a key role in getting the educational message out, he added: ?What I would like to say to every parent is sit down with your kid and talk to them about what is going on. It really begins at home.

?We do need to, as families and communities and friends and co-workers, talk to each other about safety on the roads; seatbelts, not overtaking if you are on a bike, having a full face helmet, things like this. That will either diminish the likelihood of having an accident or diminish the disability that you might suffer should you have one.?

Dr. Johnson said some of the solutions that had worked in places such as Canada, the US and the UK may not work in Bermuda, and it would be necessary to come up with new ideas.

Introducing the new Road Safety Council chairman, Deputy Premier Dr. Ewart Brown also paid tribute to the former chairman Dr. Joseph Froncioni and outgoing road safety officer Roxanne Christopher.

Of Dr. Johnson, he said: ?He is an accomplished surgeon whose experience in Bermuda is inclusive of people who have not done so well in the roads of Bermuda. He is intimately familiar with the consequences of road accidents.

?He also has a passion for doing something about it. In recent weeks you have seen a spate of accidents, most of which are related to speed and some poor diving habits, so Dr. Johnson has the opportunity to walk in and hit the ground running.?