Another year, another 13 road deaths.

2006 closed with another long list of victims of Bermuda's roads ? exactly the same number as in 2005 ? and almost all of them were avoidable.

By any measure, this is serious, but what is truly terrifying is that Bermuda's record for road fatalities is almost 50 percent higher than the comparable rate in the US, where there were more than 40,000 road deaths, or 14.52 per 100,000 people. Bermuda's rate per 100,000 population would be 21, one of the highest, if not the highest, in the western world.

Perhaps as importantly, the Island's fatality rate shows no sign of going down in a meaningful way when, again, road death rates in the developed world are generally declining.

This should be a national crisis. If 13 people were murdered in a given year, it would be. Four people tragically died on the Causeway in Hurricane Fabian in 2003, and Government is seriously considering spending tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars on a replacement span. But when 13 people die on the roads, no one seems to notice, any more than they notice the dozens more who have been seriously injured, crippled or brain-damaged over the years.

The truth is that Bermuda residents do not care enough to do something about this.

Elsewhere in the world, drunk driving laws are obeyed. Here they are ignored.

For years, there have been promises from Government and the Police that speed cameras will be installed. Another year has passed, and they still do not exist.

Points systems for driving infractions have been debated endlessly, and have not been introduced.

It is debatable whether they would do much good. The truth is that many people who receive traffic tickets fail to show up in court, and those who do fail to pay the fines or ignore their driving bans. They do so because the courts, the Police and the Government lack the resources, or the will, or both, to enforce the law and the punishments meted out to lawbreakers. Is it any surprise that the death toll remains unchanged or that people break the rules of the road with impunity?

Advertising campaigns, obey the speed limit days and occasional Police crackdowns ? seemingly held during rush hours when most traffic is barely moving ?- are not enough. What this will take is a community effort.

There was a time when Police traffic officers seemed to be omnipresent, and people who drove while disqualified found themselves spending time in prison. Concerns that traffic offenders were being turned into criminals changed all that, but one wonders if we are better off for it.

Consistent policing, continuous public awareness campaigns, severe ? and enforced ? penalties for lawbreakers are needed if Bermuda wants to put an end to the carnage.

Of course, the most important component of this is individual responsibility. Almost all of us, at one time or another speed, drive when over the limit, overtake on corners, tailgate, double park and break other driving laws. And in doing so, almost all of us put our own lives and the lives of others at risk. We ? not they ? have to lead by example.

We should make 2007 the year when we say enough is enough. It's time to stop the carnage.