Police reiterated a plea for motorists to slow down yesterday after revealing that almost 1,500 crashes have taken place on the Island?s roads already this year, with 99 of those accidents resulting in serious injury.

Inspector Mark Bothello, who is in charge of the Island?s traffic unit, told a press conference that Police wanted to cut the number of collisions in half for the remainder of the year.

He said officers were working with the Government?s Transport Control Department on a number of initiatives to combat speed. But the key, he said, was for drivers to take heed.

?I sit here today, representing the Police, begging for the motoring public to slow down,? he said.

So far this year there have been 1,410 road accidents, with 464 of those resulting in injury. The total number of people injured has been 543. In June alone, there were 282 crashes, with 112 causing injury and one causing death.

During the same period last year, there were 1,376 accidents and 536 people hurt.

Overwhelming, driver error is to blame for crashes. Inattention caused 420 of the crashes this year, with following another vehicle too closely accounting for 127 and inexperience causing 115.

Bad overtaking caused 79 collisions and careless reversing 103. Eighty six of the accidents were caused by wet roads.

Forty eight people have been arrested this year for impaired driving connected to a crash.

Private cars account for almost half (46.6 percent) of the vehicles involved in this year?s crashes, with motorcycles/scooters making up just over 17 percent, auxiliary cycles 11.4 percent, livery cycles 7.6 percent, trucks 10.5 percent, taxis 4.8 percent, public service vehicles 1.6 percent and pedal bikes 0.2 percent.

The accidents have involved 1,516 local men and 946 local women plus 43 female tourists and 43 male visitors.

In June, 20 locals and two tourists were seriously injured in road crashes. Police issued a warning over speed earlier this week after a serious crash which injured a father and daughter on North Shore Road in Devonshire. The smash came less than a week after a fatality on the same road and 11 days after a road death in St. George?s.

Insp. Bothello reminded bike riders to secure their helmets and ensure a proper fit. He said badly fitted helmets could fly off during a crash and that helmets which can be dropped or damaged should not be worn.