The Bermuda Road Safety Council recommended a complete graduated licensing scheme to the former One Bermuda Alliance government.

The programme included on-road training by expert instructors for all learner bike riders.

The Road Safety Council’s on-road training segment is already being taught at the Berkeley Institute backed by private funding and is part of the recommendations which transport minister Walter Roban has the power to have debated and legislated.

The Government’s Project Ride was introduced several years ago to provide some extra road skills training for Bermudian students but is not a comprehensive programme.

Mr Roban said: “I am aware of the recommendations and, just so it is clear, Project Ride itself is a graduated licensing programme. We are committed to further advancing that.

“Project Ride started under the former PLP government so we now need to review it and advance it further.

“In light of the situation that we have on our roads all of our programmes of this nature need to be looked at and advanced further.

“That is what we are committed to doing. We will further advance Project Ride and modify it.

Mr Roban added: “We will look at recommendations that have already been made and anyone else who has any other ideas we are happy to look at those as well.

“We want everybody to do everything safely so we are not advocating for young people to get on the road in an effort to learn how to drive unless they have had some proper instruction and guidance.”

Mr Roban said he backed the acquisition of additional equipment to help with training.

He added: “But there are other things that we can do to have a truly graduated licensing programme and one of the things which I have mentioned already is starting driver education at an earlier age.

“Everybody who grows up in Bermuda pretty much starts being concerned with road safety when they want to get their bike at 16.

“It should, frankly, start a lot earlier, so we are going to focus on how we are going to do that.

“Work has already begun by the Road Safety Council to work with the Department of Education on putting a programme in that we can start at 5 years old.”

Mr Roban said: “I am very happy that work has already started and we are going to advance that further.

“I want to do everything that is possible to help the process of having no deaths on our roads.”

He added: “I am not trying to say this because it is an easy political line to take.

“We see the tragedy that families experience.”