Brown has revealed.

Speaking on the second day of Road Safety Week, Dr. Brown said: "We don't intend to be unreasonable but we will urge the judiciary to be serious about it and to send a message that drinking while driving is not acceptable.'' Dr.

Brown declined to be more specific until detailed recommendations had been made by the Road Safety Council.

But he added: "Jail sentences in certain circumstances would be acceptable however this Government, because of its philosophy about human beings, must include in its spectrum of punishment teaching and treatment.

"There's no sense in putting an alcoholic in prison because he was driving while drunk or you would be doing that every six months.

"When people have accidents that's a great time to initiate treatment otherwise you never fix the problem.

"We've launched a hard-hitting media effort and is seems by last year's figures there was a reduction in the number of people charged with drink driving.

"The statistics never tell the whole story about social conduct. Bermuda has had a problem with alcohol and for many years was in denial about it.

"Alcoholism is part of the Bermudian social fabric so we are trying on all fronts to work with that.

"People who come here usually find out that it's more OK to drink here than it might be at home and that the chances for prosecution are less and so they do it but I believe law enforcement will make a difference.

"So we will continue to beam the programme at the people. You are not going to solve the problem with your effort but it will get worse if you don't.

"There is going to be a slow reduction. If you look at families in Bermuda you will find fewer of the younger generation drinking -- hopefully that is going to make a statistical impact as well.

"We are looking at all kinds of ways of making public transport more accessible. But there is also some personal responsibility in this.'' War on drivers who drink "If a person knows he will have to pay $40 for a taxi home then maybe he should wait until he gets home to drink. But you have to make choices or the Government will make choices for you.'' Road Safety Officer Roxanne Christopher also says more needs to be done to tackle the scourge of drink driving.

She told The Royal Gazette : "A brain injury can cost an insurance company $1 million for one person. And last year there were nine road deaths and the year before there were 17.'' "But you cannot call a road accident an accident -- because they are all preventable.

"We should call them incidents because behaviour like drinking and driving is all preventable. We are responsible for our actions.'' Emergency Doctor Joseph Froncioni said drink driving was a huge factor in causing death and injury on the roads. "Those of us who work in the emergency rooms dealing with crash victims believe that alcohol plays a significant percentage in those crashes. We can't prove it because we still cannot take out blood for alcohol level. "I think there is a gross underestimate of the number of alcohol affected drivers on the road.'' And he spelt out the impact road crashes had on the nation. He said: "In 1998 we had 100 head injuries in Bermuda and 60 were severe enough to be admitted to intensive care unit.

"The daily cost of the intensive care unit is about $3,500 a day, the average stay for those 60 head injuries was five days.

"This works out at over a $1 million -- that's not including custodial care for those patients who are severely brain injured who need care for the rest of their lives.

"It doesn't include rehabilitation, reeducation or time lost off work so the actual cost of those 60 severe head injuries is probably several million dollars.

He said: "Around 50 went on to make a full recovery but the other 10 or so, which is 15 percent were left with a permanent disability, the worst kind is complete loss of brain function to be in a complete vegetative state. "And then there are milder injuries such as mild speech, attention or motor deficits.

Tomorrow, Road Safety Council member Dr. Joseph Froncioni hits out at poor headgear that is putting lives at risk.

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