growing death toll.

They aim to ram home the "drive carefully'' message through concerted TV advertising. And they also want young people to undergo cycle tests before they get a licence.

Yesterday chairman of the Road Safety Council Mr. Ramadhin Smith warned, however, there was only so much his organisation could do.

People had to take responsibility for their actions, he stressed. "It is easy to point fingers, instead of looking in the mirror,'' Mr. Smith said.

Nine people have died this year on Bermuda's roads -- an unusually high death toll. The latest death occurred on Thursday afternoon when a motor cycle crashed with a jeep in Middle Road, Warwick. Damaine Patrick Simmons, 21, of Pleasantville Lane, Sandys, was a passenger on the Yamaha bike which skidded across the road, Police said.

And in April, Miss Zalita Hunt, 18, and her 19-year-old boyfriend Mr. Kioshi Edwards died when they were apparently thrown from their cycle after hitting a utility pole in Somerset Road.

Last week Paget West MP Mr. Tim Smith called for changes to a stretch of Middle Road in Paget, claiming there had been 61 accidents on it.

This weekend Police reported two crashes. In one, a Sandys woman had a lucky escape when her car overturned after mounting a wall.

The 34-year-old suffered only a large scrape to her arm and other minor cuts.

Police said the accident occurred shortly before 7 a.m. on Saturday.

The woman's white Mitsubishi Lancer was travelling east on Middle Road, Southampton, when it mounted a nearside wall by Franks Bay. It then flipped on to its roof. No other vehicle was involved.

About two hours earlier, another accident occurred in North Shore Road, near Bailey's Bay. Police found a white Suzuki Vitara jeep overturned and extensively damaged.

The driver had left, and the extent of his injuries was unknown, said Police spokesman P.c. Gary Venning.

People who witnessed the crash or saw the car beforehand should contact P.c.

John White at St. George's Police station on 297-1122.

Yesterday Mr. Smith said he was concerned -- and puzzled -- by the recent spate of accidents. "Everybody seems to be in such a hurry these days. I have no explanation as to why there should be so many accidents this year.

"At the end of the day, everybody, even pedestrians, should exercise care and caution.'' Mr. Smith said the TV advertising campaign was not aimed just at teenagers.

Statistics showed that people involved in death crashes were often aged 20 and over.

"The whole of the community needs to make an effort to reduce accidents.'' Mr. Smith pointed out the Project Ride programme was aimed at heightening road safety awareness among school children.

Teenagers were taught respect for the roads -- before they rode a bike, he said. He added he wanted schoolchildren to be forced to take a Project Ride test before getting a licence.

"I think this should be a prerequisite.'' Mr. Smith said the idea was being looked into.

MR. RAMADHIN SMITH -- The chairman of the Road Safety Council warned there was only so much his organisation could do.