Shadow Transport Minister Shawn Crockwell yesterday called for on-the-spot breathalyser testing to help get a grip on Bermuda's alarming road death toll.

Mr. Crockwell lost a relative and two acquaintances in April as the number of fatalities on the Island's roads has soared to nine already this year.

At a press conference yesterday he bemoaned the bad driving habits which make roads unsafe, and said the way to begin changing attitudes over drunk driving was to make sure the culprits don't get away with it.

"Bermuda's roads are more dangerous than ever before," said Mr. Crockwell. "The number of road deaths this year — nine — is the terrible tip of a problem involving people in every parish, from all walks of life. We are on course for 20 fatalities on our roads this year."

David Ellis, 36, who became Bermuda's fourth road fatality of 2008 when he died on April 8, was a second cousin of Mr. Crockwell.

The politician also knew Kitina Simmons, 23, the seventh road death of the year on April 14, as a customer when he worked at Bermuda Motors.

And he remembered Larry Thomas — death number eight on April 26 — from the victim's work as a bartender at Salt Rock Grill.

"They are people that you see and know. There could be some form of emotional attachment," Mr. Crockwell said.

Calling for more visible Police officers, he said: "A strong, visible Police presence on our roads is the most important single step to making them safer.

"If people know the Police are on active, continuous patrol they will be less inclined to indulge in the kind of behaviour that leads to danger."

On drunk driving, he said: "It is a well-established fact that alcohol is a major contributor to car accidents, including those that kill.

"We believe drinking and driving is prevalent because people don't think they will be stopped by Police. It doesn't have to be that way.

"On-the-spot breathalyser testing in other countries changed people's thinking about drinking and driving, and so we urge the Government to take the steps to strengthen the programme.

"People need to be made to think there is a good chance of getting caught if they drive under the influence of alcohol. Random, ongoing breathalyser spot checks are one way to do it."