Council's deputy chairman revealed yesterday.

"We understand outstanding traffic tickets for last year was over $700,000 and will undoubtedly be higher when actual figures are released shortly,'' W.A. (Toppy) Cowan said.

"Sometime ago, eight people were employed to track down the violators. Today, nobody cares.

"If they are caught speeding, what's the big deal, the majority of the offenders don't pay,'' Mr. Cowan said.

"Approximately 800 people have accumulated 3,000 tickets and the chances of them paying soon are very slim.'' Court Administrative Officer Tracy Kelly could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Garnisheeing wages of those who have failed to pay their tickets should be considered, Mr. Cowan said.

"I see nothing wrong with that.'' He also said that a staggering number of unlicensed cars cruising the Island's roads.

"There are suggestions that over 1,000 cars on Bermuda's roads are not licensed, the noise level on many cycles is unacceptable and speeding has become a way of life. It is a miracle that we don't have more accidents and deaths caused by careless driving.'' He estimated there are about 49,000 vehicles in Bermuda and 2,900 accidents per year.

He added that the Bermuda Road Safety Council gets numerous recommendations on how to improve traffic conditions.

Among the ideas -- ban visitors from riding mopeds and make youths wait until they are 18 for a cycle licence and age 21 for car licence.

The Road Safety Council also said that a point system, less powerful machines and speed bumps or washboard surfaces to slow traffic, especially in congested areas, have been discussed.