Opposition Transport spokesman Jamahl Simmons has called for traffic Police numbers to be boosted to act as a deterrent for speeding motorists.

He made the call after a spate of serious road traffic accidents including two recent fatalities.

He said: ?The traffic police have been calling for some years for an increase in manpower resources.

?I would like to see that being applied so they have a level where they can handle the job to the best of their ability.

?For a lot of people seeing Police on the road acts as a deterrent.?

He said Saturday?s road death in which an American tourist was killed after crashing her hired scooter had been a tragedy.

Too many motorists in Bermuda viewed tourists on bikes as a nuisance said Mr. Simmons who appealed for patience to be shown although he said that would not have affected Saturday?s accident.

The number of road collisions actually fell by 5.6 percent last year.

A total of 4,727 locals and 411 tourists were involved in collisions compared to 2002?s total of 4,971 and 419 respectively.

There were 1,058 injury collisions. As a result 1,251 people were injured including 166 residents and 30 tourist who had serious accidents.

In only 3.1 percent of collisions drink and drugs were suspected of being the cause.