A support group for families impacted by traffic accidents is being established — along with a scholarship in the name of those affected.

The initiatives were announced during a town hall meeting, organised by the group behind A Piece of the Rock road safety campaign.

The group called on anyone who has been affected by a tragedy on the island’s roads to come forward and contact them through their Facebook page.

Manish Thareja, one of the organisers behind the campaign, said bringing together the families of those affected can help them heal.

He said that the epidemic of traffic collisions have touched most Bermudians, with more than a thousand people suffering serious injuries and more than 100 people dying on the island’s roads since 2009.

Mr Thareja said: “Based on the statistics, there are a lot of families that are grieving a loss of their loved one or taking care of family members affected by serious life threatening road crashes.

“In connecting these families with each other and hopefully getting them more support from counsellors, it will help them in their healing process.”

Meanwhile the group said the $1,000 scholarship will be available for school students over the age of 13, with participants tasked with writing an essay about how a traffic collision has affected them and what action can be taken to bring about positive change.

According to organisers the scholarship will carry the names of those whose lives have been changed by a collision.

Mr Thareja said: “We are hoping the essay will inspire students impacted by road crashes to share their stories and realise how a single road crash can change the lives of people and their loved ones forever.

“We also hope to inspire students to play an active role in being safe drivers themselves and realise that their lives are precious and each one of them has an important role to play in making Bermuda roads safer, as they are going to be the next generation of riders on the road.”

The first scholarship is set to be named after Lauren Wilson, whose son Wolde Bartley was left quadriplegic in a 2004 collision.

Meanwhile the documentary, A Piece of the Rock, is set to be released online in the hopes of spreading the message about road safety.

During the meeting, panellists agreed that more must be done to change the island’s driving culture.

Anthony Santucci, executive director of CADA, said: “I can promise you we have lost more young black males to road fatalities than we have gun violence but we don’t look at it in the same light.

“If we did, we would be beside ourselves.

“We know what the solutions are. We just need to have the political will to make it happen.”

Attendees heard that impairment plays a role in 75 per cent of the island’s fatal traffic collisions.

Inspector Robert Cardwell of the Roads Policing Unit recalled a fatal crash involving a man leaving a Christmas party.

He said the man arrived at the party drunk, had several shots, and then made a grand exit.

“Everyone saw him pick up his keys and helmet,” Mr Cardwell said. “He left, and was then killed in a single vehicle collision.

“Why don’t we interfere? Because it’s going to cause a fight? We have got to decide where our conscious is.

“People when drinking are not going to be making the best decisions, so we need to make the decisions for them.”

While Mr Cardwell said most people killed in road traffic incidents are between the ages of 25 and 32, younger riders are more likely to find themselves in the emergency room.

Ali Bardgett, chair of the Bermuda Road Safety Council, said part of the problem is a lack of adequate training.

“They go around some cones in a parking lot and they are told they know how to ride,” she said.

“We need the deterrence, but we also need to make sure they get the right training because once they get on the bigger bikes, the bad skills have already been learnt.”

One of the legislative changes sought by A Piece of the Rock is the introduction of a graduated licence programme.

Joseph Froncioni, orthopaedic surgeon and former head of the BRSC, explained that the system would hold younger riders to stricter standards.

Along with requiring training, the programme would include a period in which any traffic violation would result in the rider losing their licence.

Riders in the programme would not be allowed to ride in darkness or have any alcohol in their system while driving.

“If we can do that for two years and people stick to it, we have actually changed their brains, we have changed their mentality about driving,” he said.

Dr Froncioni also questioned the use of the word “accident” to describe traffic collisions.

“When you look at the details you realise 95 per cent of these are predictable and preventable,” he said.

“Most people are of the mindset of it being an accident, something you cannot prevent, and I think that’s part of the reason why people are so compliant.

“Think of this as a disease or medical condition that is perfectly treatable.”

For information about the support group, the public are invited to reach out to A Piece of the Rock through their Facebook page, facebook.com/makeBermudaroadssafer.