A range of new bikes equipped with a potential lifesaver have gone on sale here.

And the Spanish Derbi cycles have devices which make the kickstand accident which last year claimed the life of 17-year-old Ewan Sampson impossible.

Ewan died following a freak smash with a baker's van -- caused by a kickstand catching the road.

But of the three-strong 50cc Derbi range of motorbikes at Wheels, Hamilton, one has an engine cutout which means the bike cannot be started without the kickstand being up.

Another model has a spring-loaded kickstand which automatically retracts when the bike is lifted up straight.

Wheels' president David Panchaud said: "Both systems are an excellent safety device and could prevent another tragedy.'' Mr. Panchaud added he believed the two safety devices could be adapted to fit other makes of cycle as well. He explained both systems could be brought in as spare parts and then fixed on other models.

Mr. Panchaud added: "I would think they could be modified to fit on almost any cycle -- I haven't taken them apart to see, but I believe they could be.'' An inquest into the death of star Saltus' student Ewan began yesterday at Coroner's Court in Hamilton.

He became the fifth fatality on Bermuda's roads after his bike ploughed into a van on a notorious accident blackspot on Middle Road, Southampton, last April.

It is believed Ewan pulled out of the nearby Shell gas station and his kickstand hit the ground, throwing the machine off course and into the van.

After the accident, then-Minister of Transport Wayne Furbert said he would be looking into a ban on kickstands, as opposed to the larger double stands which lift the front wheel off the ground.

And then-Road Safety Council chairman George Morton said if it was proved kickstands were more dangerous, he would support a ban on them.

Last year, Bermuda recorded a total of 18 roads deaths -- the highest since 1983.

New Road Safety Council chairman Delcina Bean Burrows -- a former Road Safety Officer -- has already called for a register of injuries to pinpoint common causes of accidents so resources can be accurately targetted.

She could not be contacted for comment on the new safer kickstands last night.