"The trend would indicate that there are a great many more people driving while under the influence,'' Road Safety Council chairman Mr. Ramadhin Smith said yesterday in commenting on the survey.

He pointed the finger at Government cutbacks in the Police Force for more residents chancing it and driving drunk.

"There is probably not enough Police manpower to stop everyone,'' he said.

"(Police officers) have not been out in force conducting random road checks.'' The survey, conducted by Government Road Safety Officer Mrs. Laura Smith using Coroner's road death reports for the last five years, found more than 50 percent of the 41 accidents were alcohol related, Mr. Smith said.

Insecure helmets was also found to be a major cause of road deaths, he said.

"The majority of them also seemed to occur in Somerset,'' he noted.

The survey's findings were revealed by Mrs. Smith at a Monday night meeting of the Council.

She learned more than twice the legal amount of alcohol was found in the victims' blood in several of the fatal road accidents, Mr. Smith noted.

"Helmets were also a big concern. There was one case where the victim had a homemade helmet which had the bolts facing inside,'' Mr. Smith said.

"Often, the victims did not have their helmets fastened properly.'' Speed and inattention was also found to be a factor in a number of the fatal accidents.

Mr. Smith said the Council would work with Government, Police and anti-drug and alcohol campaigners to try and get the message through to residents not to drink and drive.

A heightened road safety awareness campaign was also planned.

"The key thing is road safety,'' he said. "You have to be cautious and look out for yourself.'' It may be the case that fewer people were being arrested for driving while impaired, he said, but that was probably because fewer people were being stopped on suspicion of committing the offence.

A Police spokesman said there had been no significant decrease in Police road checks or patrols.

He added: "With the manpower available, we are doing the best we can.'' Mr. Smith said Monday night's meeting started with a minute of silence for the year's sixth road traffic fatality, Mr. Louis Bean, 41.

He died after losing control of his bike and crashing into a tree and a wall on Saturday night.

Mrs. Smith's survey did not take into account this year's road deaths.

It was undertaken earlier this year after a spate of fatal road crashes.

"It's got to be the worst year so far,'' Mr. Smith said last week after news of the Island's fifth road death.

Giant Foods owner Mr. George Whitecross, 43, died after his motorcycle was involved in a night-time collision with another rider near Cabana Apartments in Smith's Parish.

Mr. Smith said the Road Safety Officer would now turn her attention to accidents in general and find out their key causes.

"There are a lot of accidents, that because they are not fatal, the public does not hear much about,'' Mr. Smith said.

Mr. Ramadhin Smith.