The Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (CADA) also urged taking the proposal a step further with random testing of motorists "to stop accidents before they happen''.

"We believe that Bermuda is ready to get tough on drug and alcohol abuse,'' CADA chief Mr. Gordon Johnson said in an address to the Kiwanis Club.

"CADA feels mandatory testing of road accident victims is an excellent place to start, and that random testing would be a logical next step.

"We hope the members of the Kiwanis Club will join us in calling for changes to legislation that would make this testing possible.'' CADA firmly believed in taking action against drug and alcohol abusers who caused accidents, he said.

"People who drive while impaired and who injure themselves or others are harming our community,'' Mr. Johnson said.

"Their behaviour results in many different types of costs, both financial and emotional.

"We cannot afford to have our fathers and mothers harmed by an accident caused when someone was driving while impaired.

"We cannot afford to rehabilitate a son who used drugs before driving his bike into a wall.

"And we cannot afford to have our families experience the tragedy of a life lost because someone left a party and drove after having `one too many'.'' Empowering Police and hospital staff to test for drug and alcohol levels in road crash victims would enable Police to prosecute all those involved in road accidents and suspected of driving while impaired, he said.

As a member of the Council Partners, who also include Fair Havens, Focus, PRIDE and the Lions Quest, CADA was committed to raising funds for anti-drug programmes and advocating action.

In that regard, CADA "fully supported'' Health Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness' proposal.

It was made last week in response to a recent rash of road deaths and a Transport Ministry survey which found drunk driving was the reason for the majority of deaths on Bermuda's roads in the last five years.

"Head of the Emergency Department at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital Dr.

Edward Schultz also says his staff suspect that drug and alcohol abuse contributes significantly to the cause of traffic accidents in Bermuda, but their hands are tied when it comes to confirming their suspicions because of restrictions regarding testing,'' Mr. Johnson said.

"We agree with Mr. Edness that such action will enable Police to prosecute those involved in road accidents who were driving while impaired, and thereby deter others from doing so.

"Such action will also facilitate the gathering of statistics regarding the numbers of accidents related to substance abuse.'' Under current laws Police can only use the alco-analyser on people involved in road accidents when they are not taken to hospital.

And they are not allowed to test at all for the presence of drugs such as marijuana and cocaine.

Hospital staff are forbidden to test accident victims for alcohol or drugs at all.

Mr. Edness said he planned to meet with the Road Safety Council, Transport Ministry officials and the Attorney General to discuss the proposed law changes.

Bermuda recorded its sixth road traffic fatality of the year this month when Mr. Louis Bean, 41, died after losing control of his bike and crashing into a wall.