More than 200 high-speed road travellers were ticketed over the weekend by Police for attempting to use Bermuda's roads as a racetrack.

The offenders were brought to a screeching halt in the wake of a new crackdown on road traffic offences. Six of those offenders were careening through Bermuda's narrow, winding roads at over 100 kph - about three times the speed limit.

Police also arrested ten people on suspicion of driving while under the influence. Of those seven men and three women, six failed the sobriety test.

The highest reading of those six was also the second highest reading for alcohol levels for the year; 316 milligrammes of alcohol per 1,000 millilitres of blood, almost four times the legal limit of 80 mg/ml.

Twenty-eight accidents were reported over the weekend, and while that is high, it is lower than the 41 accidents reported for the weekend of June 14 to 16.

The reports have led Police to hold a press conference today specifically to discuss the problems of drinking and driving.

And the crackdown this weekend comes on the heels of a joint press conference between the Bermuda Police Service and the Road Safety Council (BRSC) last week which announced the beginning of the third phase of the Selected Target Enforcement Programme (STEP).

At that conference, Sgt. Val Holder, head of the Police traffic unit, warned: "People have the perception that 55 kilometres (per hour) is the unspoken speed limit, but we are letting the public know that any speed above 35 will be booked."

"Over the last ten years, the average travelling speed has gone from 40 kilometres to over 50 kilometres," noted Dr. Joseph Froncioni, head of the Bermuda Road Safety Council, at the same press conference. "Our roads are not designed for this."