Heightened concerns over the dangers of riding scooters in Bermuda are being raised by tourists and a doctor after two visitors recently died on Bermuda?s roads.

Dr. Keith Chiappa, a local neurologist, said: ?It is distressing for me to see, in the news and as patients, the number of young adults on the Island who are suffering serious head injuries in road accidents, mainly on motorbikes.

?The head injuries are fatal in some cases, leave some in a persistent vegetative state, and leave others with disabilities to the extent that they are often unable to come close to fulfilling their potential for the rest of their lives.?

He added: ?It can be argued that some, if not most, of these are self-inflicted. This raises the question of the role of a government in educating and constraining those who are most susceptible to this disease.?

Dr. Chiappa felt that society would benefit from government interventions and only an aggressive approach is likely to make a difference.

He added that the present focus on traffic misbehaviour is a good start, and should be continued and expanded and more programmes on road safety should be implemented in local schools.

Dr. Chiappa is based in Boston, Massachusetts but travels back to Bermuda every two months to see patients.

Boston Sunday Globe reporter, Anthony Flint who recently visited Bermuda and crashed his rented scooter, luckily not injuring himself, said: ?When you think about it, tourists are being steered into a precarious situation. They arrive looking for fun and they think renting a scooter is what you are supposed to do in Bermuda. So, they climb on a wobbly and throaty little powerhouse and begin to navigate the narrow, winding lanes of Bermuda.?

Visitors Rosemary Bigelow and Linda Elizabeth Inman, both 50-year-old American?s died on Bermuda?s roads after accidents on their rented scooters.

When Mr. Flint returned to the US after his vacation he realised how common it was for visitors to have accidents on their rented scooters.

He wrote about his findings in a recent article in the Boston Sunday Globe.

Mr. Flint said that Bermuda lost two visitors to scooter accidents and the accidents promoted a re-examination of the procedures for scooter rentals and how tourists might better share the roads with locals.

He said about Bermuda?s roads: ?Blind driveways lurk around virtually every hairpin turn and in the rotaries (round-a-bout), he who hesitates is lost.

The drivers of cars and trucks are not exactly patient ? oh, and remember to drive on the left,? he said.

Mr. Flint offered tips for visitors saying: ?Don?t spend all your time looking in the rear-view mirrors. That is apparently a leading cause of accidents.

?The key is to focus on the road ahead of you, and let everyone behind you worry about where you are.

He added: ?Another interesting rule is that scooters should be driven in the centre of the travel lane, not close to the shoulder like a bicycle.?

Mr. Flint referred to an earlier story inwhich quoted Geoffrey Gibbons, Oleander Cycle?s general manager saying: ?The procedures and training of renters are adequate.?

Mr. Gibbons recommended better enforcement of existing rules on local drivers.