Police are appealing for greater care and attention among motorists after an "alarming" rise in road traffic accidents this weekend.

Officers say they are to step up their patrols and enforcement of road safety after 32 accidents were reported in just a few days, half resulting in injury.

There are also plans to roll out an educational campaign in partnership with the Road Safety Council — to literally drive home the message.

The community was hit by double tragedy this weekend with the deaths of teenager Miguel Franco and 48-year-old Rudell Smith. Both men suffered fatal injuries in accidents on motorcycles.

A Police spokesman said yesterday: "The Bermuda Police Service is quite alarmed and concerned with the number of road traffic collisions that are taking place on our roads, two of which have resulted in the loss of life of a 17-year-old, Mr. Miguel Franco, and a 48-year-old, Mr. Rudell Smith.

"We are reminding the public to obey the rules of the road, and Police will be stepping up their enforcement in and around our roads in an effort to deal with the persistent number of collisions we are seeing."

He added: "We are also working in tandem with the Road Safety Council to develop educational campaigns to ensure that we have a proactive message."

Over the weekend, the number of serious accidents forced King Edward VII Memorial Hospital to appeal to Mr. Franco's school — Warwick Academy, and the wider community for assistance to top up the Blood Bank.

A KEMH spokeswoman said this was a stand-by measure as a result of the high number of accidents.

"If we have a cluster of accidents, it will impact on the Blood Bank, so we put out an appeal and this usually gets a good response," she said.

Dr. Betsie Lombard, Medical Director of the Blood Transfusion Service and Consultant Haematologist, said: "At times of unexpected demand, for example after multiple road traffic accidents, the amount of blood we have can be impacted.

"When this happens we send out a request for donors, as we did following a high demand for blood over the last few days. There has been a wonderful response from donors so far, which has helped replenish stocks quickly.

"We are extremely grateful to all of those who responded to our call and hope people who might not have donated before will consider joining the blood donor community.

"None of us know when we might need blood — road accident victims, surgical patients and people with certain conditions, all rely on the donors who regularly give blood.

"Please call us on 236 5067 if you have any questions or would like to book an appointment."

Police are appealing for witnesses to the accident involving Mr. Smith to contact PC Gregory Battersbee on 299 4388 or the main number on 295 0011.

The crash happened at 7.10 p.m. on Saturday in Ord Road, Paget.

A Police spokesman said: "We are especially interested in speaking to anyone who may have spoken with Mr. Smith on that day, prior to the collision."