70% of Road Deaths Alcohol Related
Mr Anthony Santucci, Chairman of CADA, said today that historically, about 70% of all road deaths are alcohol related.
He was speaking at a Press Conference along with David Minors, Road Safety Officer of the Road Safety Council, and Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Wright. Ass’t Comm Wright backed up Mr Santucci’s observation by saying that the vast majority of road deaths involved the use of alcohol.
Mr Minors said that so far in 2010, there had been twelve road deaths and all those dying had been local residents; all but one male; and eight of the twelve involved motorcycles. In addition, the Road Safety Officer said that seventeen other persons had been in the KEMH’s Intensive Care Unit as a result of road accidents.
Mr Minors reminded the public of some road safety rules: “Don’t drink and drive. Slow down. Fasten your helmet correctly.” Lastly, “don’t drive while talking on your cellphone.”
Mr Minors said that after reviewing Bermuda’s road collision statistics, the UK’s Royal Society of the Prevention of Accidents had commented that Bermuda’s fatal road collision rate is “six times worse that that of the UK.”
CADA’s Chairman stressed that over this holiday period, everyone who plans to go out and drink should also plan how they are going to get back home. He said that CADA’s “Let Us Drive” program operates every weekend from outside the LOM building on the corner of Reid and Burnaby Streets from 3:15am to 3:45am and provides safe, free, transport home. He also reminded of CADA’s ABCD program – Always use a Bus, Cab, or Designated driver. In addition, parents should drive home to their children that they will respond positively at any time of the night or day to a request for a ride home.
Ass’t Comm Wright said that Police had stepped up their activity and that arrests for Driving Under the Influence [DUI] were up 20 percent so far this year. He said that Police would maintain a high presence over the holiday as Police, historically, knew that this was a period that saw increases in burglary as well as DUI. Ass’t Comm Wright said that both Police and Police Reserves would be out in strength for the duration of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
Ass’t Comm Wright pointed out that Police already had the power to stop anyone if the observing Police Officer suspected that someone was DUI of either drink or drugs, that this was part of the reason for the 20 percent increase in DUI stops.
Why do people drive drunk in Bermuda?
Because they have no other way of getting home
How will most of us get home this NYE, not Taxi (because there are none after 12pm anywhere) not public transport (because there is none) and not any other way than drunk people driving, sort the Taxi service out, sort after hours public transport out and wow, people might not have to drive home at 3am drunk!!
ever heard of selecting a designated driver? I do agree that it’s easier to hop on a bike or in your car, but if you already know that there is no other means of transport make arangements to have someone be the designated driver. Driving drunk not only endangers your life, but the lives of those who aren’t drinking and driving.
Good point on selecting a designated driver, but they are also in short supply.
I have served as a designated driver in the past but as a non drinker/non smoker, sitting around in a bar was a boring experience at the best of times, and when the friends/work partners I hung out with went past my 10 pm bedtime, I had enough of that job/duty.
A lot of folks/hard/experienced drinkers can close down the bars at 12, 2am or 3am and the nondrinker, having left the bar earlier has to come back from home and driving tried/sleepy can be just as bad as driving drunk.
Interesting to hear from other non drinkers/designated drivers on their experiences.
It is easy to say take responsibility but explain that to a an impatient drunk person. People know drunk driving is wrong but they choose to do it still and I believe alot of it has to do with not being able to ge themselves home is a way that is safe and convenient. Most places in the world when you have had too many you jump in a cab. Here that is almost an impossibility so when a drunk individual finds themselves on the road at 2am with no way to get home, what do they choose to do??? Look at when most of the accidents occur, inbetween 12am and 4am. Hmm sure as hell these people are not sober.
Bermuda needs to catch up to the times. everything shuts down early and we all get to go home and rest. Truth is though, people need more work now days so why not have late night buses that run from Hamilton to various parts of the island for people that go out for the night. I’m sure some bus drivers would welcome the extra hours. In reality, it would probably take the bus being refitted with safety glass surrounding the driver and possibly an officer of some sort to ride along for security. but like in Toronto for example, drunk driving is not tolerated at all so what you will see is buses running from down town all night long. I don’t see why this can’t be an option for us also.
Co- Sign!
1) Earlier more visible FREE taxis.
2) No parking tickets if you’ve left your car over night
I agree with Arthur, DD doesn’t always work. I’ve been DD many times before, and town isn’t as fun standing in hot crowded rooms while everyones spilling and stepping on your toes if you’re not drinking. I usually get tired and want to go home early, which the drinkers usually do not.
I think mixed up hit the nail on the head. Places that have succesfully reduced drunk driving have done so by creating and enforcing STRICT penalty’s (extreme fines and jail time) and deploying the police needed to actually catch people.
People drunk drive here because they can do it regularly with a low chance of getting caught. I used to be a habitual drunk driver and i know people that still are after 20+ years of driving drunk and never getting caught. Its almost a right of passage for men here to be competent drunk drivers. This culture will only stop when the courts and police start to take it more seriously.
Cab’s arent bad here and arent hard to catch except for a few specific nights of the year(halloween and NYE are two of them). Also the free cab program works really well and should be commended. Most people like Bermyman use cabs as a scape goat to justify their drunk driving, i know i used to before i got caught and since being off the road have been shocked at how easy it is to get home without driving wasted.
I don’t drink drive so there is no scape goat. I have never once heard of someone in a court using “not being able to get a cab” as a reason for a DUI. I feel that if there were more available taxis and better public transport we would have less drunk driving incidents. I dissagree that there is a low chance of getting caught because I know many people who have, so from your perspective ‘Tolerance’, slighty contradictory since you claim there is a low chance but you were caught yourself. Make up your mind.
I wasnt implying you drink and drive I was simply pointing out that your statement ‘people drink and drive because there isnt another way home’ is incorect and often used as an excuse by people who drive home drunk.
There are ways home but people dont use them because driving drunk is easier/cheaper given the low chance of getting caught and the relatively slight penalty. I know people who have been caught inlcuding myself but i know way more people than that havent on nightly basis….you cant really argue enough people get caught if you think there is dd problem on our roads can you?
Having a late night bus and marketing the free cabs better would help but it doesnt solve the root of the problem which is Bermuda’s drunk driving culture.
For people to change they need to take it serious and the only way this will happen is serious fines (thinking 10% of avg salary/jail time for repeats) and boosting the chance of getting caught.
Which raises the question, why dont police crack down on dd’s? I think it’s because they dont have the tools, when i got caught it took about 4 hrs to take me to the station and process me… thats 1 drunk driver! If every car had a breathalizer (like many countries poorer than us) this would be a huge help because then police could do checks regularly and quickly.
just my 2 cents
agree with your points, maybe there should be a check point every night. But to be honest the police are stretched at the moment anyway.
immediate confiscation of vehicles would do a lot to curb the desire of the island`s alcohol aficionados to take to the road. they don`t give a damn about their well-being (or the well-being of others), but they sho nuff love their cars and bikes.
The vehicle may belong to a family member or friend. I don’t think other people need to be punished for someone elses stupidity. Tougher laws. Minimum 2 years off road and imprisonment for repeat offenders.
They need to demonize alcohol like they do marijuana. When those things come on the radio about what marijuana does to your body, they should do one for alcohol being that it is WAY MORE dangerous than marijuana.
When will the government stand up to alcohol like it has other drugs?
I agree Sara, but it will never happen. I can tell you one thing though, Alcohol has done more damdage to individuals and communities as a legal substance than Marijuana ever would. It is the illegality of Marijuana that causes alot of the violent crime in Bermuda. Reason is that it is so expensive. If you made Alcohol illegal tomorrow, it would still be available from organised crime and it would be expensive. The money gangsters would make would be used to fund weapons so that they can fight and steal from each other in order to protect and control their income from the drug (alcohol). It is perpetual and the situation will never get any better because it is human nature to use and abuse substance. We have to protect people from themselves or just accept that some people are not strong enough to not become addicted or abuse a substance. What we have to do is stop them from getting on / in a vehicle, because then they are a danger to everyone including themselves.
Read up on what the prohibition did in the states. Crime went up when they banned alcohol. I don’t think that’s what we’re looking for..
So the answer to your question is never.
Also. Putting out facts about what Marijuana, Alcohol, or Cigarettes do to your body doesn’t deter anybody. No smoker has ever gone OMG I CAN GET LUNG CANCER FROM THIS? Once they hear these “facts”. They already know. They know what they’re doing to their body. I was told in primary school how bad smoking is and yet I’m still a smoker. Go figure.