The introduction of speed cameras on Bermuda's roads came a step closer last week when Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety, Randy Horton, announced that $100,000 has been put aside for them this year.

The standard of driving in Bermuda is atrocious. I'm not the only one who thinks so. Last year, chairman of the Road Safety Council, Dr. Joseph Froncioni, described it as "appalling", memorably branding the roads as "unsafe for all the users". Back in August 2003, head of the Bermuda Police Traffic Unit, Inspector Terry Spencer put it more succinctly: "Bermudians cannot drive and cannot ride," he said. According to bermuda-online.org, the Island has six times more vehicle accidents per square mile than anywhere else in the world.

The speed limit in most of Bermuda is 35 km/h. Yet almost everyone exceeds this. It's widely known that you will not be stopped by Police if you are travelling at less than 50 km/h. Consequently, this is the speed at which most locals now drive, myself included.

The de facto limit has crept up to this level because the Police simply don't have the resources to ticket everyone travelling above 35 km/h.

According to Dr. Froncioni, on a good day there might be no more than six traffic officers on the roads; on a bad day, as few as three. As a result, only the most egregious offenders are now booked.

Speed cameras would change that. They automatically capture an image of the licence number of a speeding vehicle, from which the registered owner can be identified by a computer.

A letter is then sent to the owner that gives him the option of either accepting the penalty (typically a fine plus a number of demerit points on his licence) or naming the driver at the time of the offence. Failure to supply the details of the driver is itself an offence which can result in the owner receiving demerit points or a disqualification.

The aim of speed cameras is not to catch people but to encourage them to slow down. Consequently, they are usually made clearly visible to drivers and their numbers are often boosted with decoys that do not capture an image.

However, this means that their placement must be considered carefully. One of the complaints often levelled against speed cameras is that they can actually increase the likelihood of an accident if a driver slams on his brakes on seeing one. It may be better to hide the cameras themselves and simply have signs warning of their presence.

Of course, if speed cameras were to become a reality here, it would raise the tricky question of what speed they would be set to trap. I imagine there would be riots in the street if every motorist travelling over 35 km/h were ticketed.

Dr. Froncioni favours the use of cameras enforcing a 40 km/h limit, roughly ten per cent above the official speed limit. (A ten to twenty per cent margin of error is commonly allowed in jurisdictions which use cameras to allow for the fact that a vehicle's speedometer ? and the camera itself ? may not be precisely calibrated.) An admittedly unscientific poll conducted on A Limey In Bermuda last year found opinion divided on this suggestion, with 49 percent of respondents supporting it and 46 percent opposed.

My feeling is that 40 km/h is too slow. I'd prefer to see cameras enforcing the current de facto limit, 50 km/h, although I could live with a 45 km/h threshold too. I believe it's quite possible to drive safely at this speed on most of Bermuda's roads and I don't buy the argument that raising the official limit would see overall speeds increase still further.

Most people speed because they know they can get away with it. There's every reason to believe that with an Island-wide net of speed cameras to stop this, speeds would be no higher than they are today.

Cameras have uses beyond detecting those who speed. They could also be used to catch vehicles that jump red lights, or identify unlicensed or uninsured vehicles.

They could also free up Police officers to spend time solving more serious crimes. The cost of setting up and maintaining the cameras is likely to be met by increased revenue from fines.

Alas, it's by no means clear that the Government really has the desire or ability to make the use of speed cameras a reality. They've been on the books for many years now and Mr. Horton said only that "efforts will continue to bring this project to fruition", that "consultation on this project continues" and that this "continues to be a work in progress".

Much must be done to improve the safety of the Island's roads. Speed cameras are just one approach. But in my view, they're an essential one.

Phillip Wells

www.limeyinbermuda.com