High-tech cameras to deter speeding, which could also cut back on bad driving such as reckless overtaking and third-laning, are in the works for a potential September deployment, legislators heard on Friday.

Michael Weeks, the Minister of National Security, told the House of Assembly that the technology is being tested around the island.

“The speed camera system will be up and running in September … there are some cameras now being tested on our roads,” Mr Weeks said.

It came during the motion to adjourn as MPs spoke on the persistent hazard of speeding.

Mr Weeks acknowledged that the Government had pledged for years to address speeding, adding: “We now have put money towards it over the last 18 months.”

He said a working group — comprising officials from the Bermuda Police Service, the Transport Control Department and the Attorney-General’s Chambers — was examining how legislation could bring a better system into force.

Mr Weeks explained that tickets will be issued electronically, to be sent by post, via e-mail or through motorists’ mobile phones.

To this end, he said the “antiquated system” now in effect “is on the verge of being no more”.

Mr Weeks told the House that the cameras being tested used licence plate recognition technology.

He said while the Government supported work by the BPS to address bad driving, the task required community effort.

“It’s going to be more than enforcement that’s going to fix the carnage on the road.”

Mr Weeks said “life-altering” accidents had featured for years on the roads, adding: “I must stress that a lot of times when we talk about the road deaths and road carnage, we talk of it as being a young person’s event.”

The minister said people “from just about every age group” were involved in accidents, adding that it was “more than just our youngsters”.

Owen Darrell, the transport minister, called for a change of driving behaviour.

He said: “It starts at home, and it starts with individuals and their own behaviours.”

Mr Darrell said the Bermuda Road Safety Council has preached safety for years and noted that many had expressed willingness to be a part of the council’s work.

“I must again reiterate that there are individuals within the community that care very deeply about what is happening on the roads,” he added.

Linda Smith, the Shadow Minister of Public Works and Environment, said the issue was “systemic” and in need of a multifaceted approach.

Ms Smith said: “Certainly changing mindsets is an important part of this … education, people having a feeling of responsibility.

“But those things happen over time and they’re not going to happen fast enough to save the number of people who are going to die in the weeks and months ahead because of the carnage we see on our roads.”

Ms Smith called for more road policing, adding: “We need to see a lot more of that.

“We need to see more enforcement so that people are going to court and these things are being adjudicated quickly and efficiently.

“People are feeling the pain of bad driving and bad driving habits.”

Jarion Richardson, the Shadow Minister of National Security, Governance and Artificial Intelligence, said the high number of traffic crashes “will not be fixed alone by speed cameras”.

He called for the updating of the law-enforcement mechanisms for the issuance of citations for errant motorists.

Mr Richardson, a former policeman, said a paper-based system from as far back as the 1980s remained in use by police.

He said the tedious task consumed “a ridiculous amount of time”, as a traffic officer would have to write information on a ticket and leave the patrol route for the police station in order to enter requisite details into BPS systems.

“It is a lengthy process … laborious and inefficient,” he said, adding: “As it stands right now, we know we need more cops on the streets.”

Mr Weeks indicated in March that speed cameras were in the testing phase. One of the impediments to bringing the devices online was said to be a question over their ability to function accurately in the dark.

The introduction of speed cameras has had longstanding buy-in from the community, however.

In 2018, Wayne Caines, a former national security minister, said there was “a strong will to do this” while acknowledging that the devices were “not something we can just bring into force”.

That same year, former transport minister Walter Roban said the technology, similar to the cameras in widespread use in Britain, had the potential to penalise irresponsible driving behaviour as well as speeding.