damaging dent.

In a story sent worldwide by a news agency, paradise takes a back seat to accidents -- in particular road accidents involving tourists.

Reuters yesterday sent a story out internationally which shows that on average tourists are five times more likely than Bermudians to suffer a road accident.

The accident rate for tourists aged between 50 and 59 is higher than in America and researchers say tourists must be educated about the risks involved in riding a motorbike.

The figures come from a report from doctors at the King Edward the VII Memorial Hospital which looked at traffic statistics from July to September, 1993.

"Tourists visiting Bermuda are at high risk of injury from motorbike use, with rates of injury much higher than the local population,'' says the report.

The study looked at 657 incoming traffic-accident victims during the peak Bermuda tourist season three years ago.

Doctors found that a tourist had over a five times greater risk for being injured while on a motorbike than a local resident.

"Tourists averaged 94.1 motorbike-related injuries per 1,000 person-years at risk, whereas in residents the average was 16.6 injuries per 1,000.'' The number was especially high among tourists aged 50 to 59 -- who had over 126.7 injuries per 1,000 person-years at risk.

Previous American studies have looked at motorbike injury rates in various locales and age groups, but Bermuda researchers say, "none of these studies reported rates as high as the ones recorded here among older tourists.'' They think inexperience with both motorbikes and Bermuda's roads may be the key factors.

"Many tourists ride a motorbike for the first time during a Bermuda holiday and inexperience on driving on the left side of the road may be contributing factors,'' adds the report.

The report states that most injuries suffered by tourists are relatively minor. In a few cases, severe rib, head, or pelvic fractures were recorded.

However the report's authors are not optimistic about what can be done to bring down these statistics.

"Training programmes have been found of little use in preventing crashes,'' they say, and special motorbike lanes are probably impractical -- "Space is at a premium in Bermuda, and the development of special paths for motorbikes is very unlikely.'' The study instead recommends education -- getting word out to tourists that touring Bermuda on motorbike requires extra safety and involves real risks.