Bar owners should not be made responsible for clients who choose to drink drive, but wider powers should be given to police to better monitor Bermuda's roads.

So believes Chamber of Commerce head Philip Barnett, who insisted a recent suggestion by the Road Safety Council ¿ that liquor establishments be held accountable for drinkers ¿ is not the way to go.

"After 22 years in this business I'm yet to meet anyone who doesn't have the caring and compassion to do whatever they can to make sure their guests get home safely," stated Mr. Barnett.

"We're talking about people who are adults. People have to be responsible for their own actions."

The Road Safety Council proposed the idea after several fatal road traffic accidents, part of a broader initiative to improve the island's driving habits.

If the Council's suggestions move forward, teenagers aged 18 and under will be forbidden from driving after 11 p.m., bars will be liable for clients who drink and drive and alternatives found to the traditional auxiliary cycles rented to tourists.

"It is still socially acceptable to drink and drive," Road Safety Council executive officer Roxanne Christopher-Petgrave said in a speech to the Hamilton Rotary earlier this week.

"Rarely is there a person that steps in to remind you about what you are about to do and the risk you are taking.

"There must be accountability by these establishments that generate $200,000 a week in alcohol sales and all they are concerned about is the bottom line.

"There must be responsibility for the server and the owner if it can be proven that they assisted with the increased intoxication and the said individual then proceeded to get in their vehicle and cause harm to an innocent party."

Mr. Barnett, a restaurateur and also the head of the Chamber of Commerce's restaurant and nightclubs committee, disagreed.

"We do take people's keys, we do make offers to get a taxi for them, but at the end of the day people make their own choices and it's not up to us to police their choices," he insisted.

"Taking legal action against bars is not only not necessary, but it's also unfair. It's patently unfair to blame bar owners and bar staff when you might have someone drinking in an establishment and you don't see them all night long because they're sitting somewhere and they've had their drinks brought to them.

"Also, there could be as many as 40 or 50 people in a place ¿ bartenders are busy working."

While he appreciates what the Road Safety Council is trying to accomplish, Mr. Barnett said his views were more aligned with those expressed earlier this week by Premier Ewart Brown.

"We must now decide what we will do in the wake of these tragedies," said Dr. Brown, who is also Transport Minister, at the launch of Road Safety Week.

"One approach is new legislation. Many have already suggested the need. It is being explored. I am compelled to tell you that I don't know how much new legislation will help our current situation. I believe so many of our road tragedies happen not because of legislation, but in spite of it.

"Legislation requires that we wear seat belts, too often it is ignored. Legislation carries stiff penalties for those who drive legally drunk, yet it still happens. Legislation outlines a specific speed limit for our roads, yet drivers routinely drive too fast.

"This is why I believe this year's Road Safety Week is a critical moment for us as a country. We must use this week to remind ourselves that it is crucial to respect the laws of the road and acknowledge that personal choice is the true driving force when you operate a motor vehicle."

Said Mr. Barnett: "I agree with the Premier and I must question the absence of legislation which would allow police to do sobriety checks as they do in other countries. If people knew they would be caught, fined and taken off the roads, I wonder whether they might make a better choice?"

The Road Safety Council plan to ban youths, with "no exceptions" from driving after 11 p.m. until the age of 19, also riled the restaurateur. He said teenaged employees would "struggle" under such a plan as their shifts can run as late as 11.30 p.m. during the week and 2 a.m. at weekends.

"Here we are trying to encourage Bermudians into the hospitality business which everyone knows doesn't operate between the hours of nine and five," he said. "We have bussers, porters, we have been able to attract into the industry, who are incredibly hard working. The proposed change does not make sense to us.

"We appreciate what the Road Safety Council is trying to do but here, frequently, people tend to say what everyone else must do when it's really about individual choice. Police need better tools, better legislation to catch the individuals who are guilty of this behaviour."