very sensible and progressive idea. It would punish persistent driving offenders without overly punishing those normally law-abiding drivers who might be stopped on the roads for one offence. We think the system ought to protect the public by coming down harder on those drivers who wilfully offend on a regular basis and that might lead to improved driving standards on the crowded roads.

Any law should to be more punitive for those who repeatedly offend or accumulate offences than it is for those who offend once and have a long history of a clean licence. It also should be more lenient on young drivers who offend for the first time than on older drivers who have a history of bad driving. Too often the young are alienated because they think the driving laws are designed to get them. Bermuda should demonstrate that it will not overly punish young people unless they accumulate a poor record.

Right now much of our traffic law imposes virtually set penalties without much regard for whether it is a first offence or a tenth offence of a similar nature. The traffic laws ought to respond strongly to those who offend on a regular basis and to be lenient with those who are normally good road users.

There is, however, one area where we think the law should remain tough and where there should be automatic disqualification and high fines. That is the area of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Driving under the influence creates such great danger to the road using public that it requires tough sentences as a deterrent. We also think that this is one area where the certainty of a disqualification from driving does deter people from getting behind the wheel. It also encourages people to use a designated sober driver or to take public transport when they know they are embarking on a drinking situation.

We think a penalty points system is desirable and a good deal more fair for general road offences but it should not apply to impaired driving. It is our view that the public wants severe sentences for drunk driving and that it approves of the breath test and recognises that the breathalyser has cut down on the number of people driving while impaired.

The suggestion of a points system has arisen from the excellent report by Judge Stephen Tumim and we think it was his intent to make road traffic laws more responsive to the realities of driving in Bermuda. A great many people drive sensibly on a regular basis. If they make one mistake they should not be punished as severely as those who regularly break the rules of the road. Young people on the roads should also not be unduly punished unless and until they accumulate points which would automatically warn them they were about to lose their much prized cycle. Young people would know they had accumulated the points themselves and that they were not being picked on by "the man''. Any person with a number of convictions would see the danger of being disqualified and might well be encouraged to better driving habits. That seems to us to make good sense.