Top traffic officer Chief Inspector Roger Kendall has thrown his support behind calls for random roadside drink and drug testing to tackle impaired driving.

And he said clampdowns on drunken Front Street revellers driving home could be on the cards once the force gets its long-awaited recruitment boost.

He said: "The biggest problem we have is manpower -- we don't have the resources to put on the streets.

"We are waiting for these 45 new officers to come out.'' And he said he hadn't been fooled by falling drink driving arrests.

"There's been a decrease in detection but not necessarily a decrease in offences,'' he said. "There are fewer eyes and ears on the street to detect drunk drivers.'' Chief Insp. Kendall, who is National Traffic Co-ordinator, said: "I would like to see random breath testing for both drink and drugs -- not just drink because drugs are a problem and there are combinations of both.

"Currently there has to be a reason such as we smell alcohol on the breath of a driver.

"We are waiting to get the drug testing equipment which is going through trial in the UK. We'll let them sort out the kinks of it first.

"It has to be accepted by the courts and prove reliable and there will have to be legislation for it.'' He said samples of sweat could be taken from the heads of suspects with the new equipment but this had been ruled out for Bermuda.

Chief Insp. Kendall said it was common for riders here to swap helmets so sweat from a drug user could end up on the forehead of an innocent rider leading to a falsely positive result.

And he backed Transport Minister Ewart Brown's call for stiffer drink drive penalties combined with educational programmes for hardened alcoholics.

"Zero tolerance is perhaps too draconian, but penalties need to be harsher.

Anything that acts as a deterrent is far better than prosecuting.'' He said first-time offenders who currently get automatic 12 month bans should also have alcohol levels taken into account so those who were way over the limit would be hit harder.

"It should be the same as we do for speeding -- on a sliding scale. That's the appropriate way to go.'' And he explained why educational programmes for repeat offenders were needed.

"If a person has a serious drinking problem he will be prepared to do the time so he will continue to drink and drive no matter what the fine or the prison sentence.

"You won't stop that unless you deal with it through education and treatment.'' And he explained drink driving was a big problem in Bermuda.

"The lifestyle affects people. I'm not just talking about the holidays.

People drink to unwind, they have high pressure jobs.'' "I have no objection to that but most people don't drink alone, they drink with friends and colleagues so they should sort out a designated driver or a taxi.'' Chief Inp. Kendall