"Pleasing the public'' has to stop if road safety issues are to be tackled head on.

Road Safety Council chairman Mr. George Morton yesterday admitted he was in favour of more graphic, hard hitting road safety advertisements but said the suggestion had been shelved for fear of a public outcry.

But it was time, he said, that a conservative Bermudian public came to terms with the "cold reality'' of dangerous driving.

"Some of the public pleasing has to stop,'' he said. "People have to wake up and pay attention.'' He added that road users must take responsibility for their own behaviour.

Bermudians, he said, had been given plenty of information on road safety issues. It was up to them to practise safe driving and stop taking unnecessary risks on the road.

"It is not naivity or lack of education,'' Mr. Morton said. "We have educated the public quite a bit and the general public is well aware of what they should or should not be doing on the roads.'' His comments came in response to the claim that the Road Safety Council, a Government advisory body, should be taking a more aggressive stance to deter dangerous drivers.

Mr. W.A. (Toppy) Cowen, the employer of a 35-year-old woman who remains in critical condition following a serious road accident, has repeatedly called for a crack-down on dangerous drivers, which he says, are also damaging Bermuda's reputation as a safe holiday destination.

"It is quite evident that the police presence on our roads has dwindled.

Instead of casual warnings, a far more aggressive role is required immediately. The rather feeble road safety commercials are not enough,'' he said.

Pink Beach waitress Ms Peggy Lynn Binns remains in critical condition on a general ward at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, three weeks after an accident on Harrington Sound Road.

No-one involved in the accident has yet been charged, a Police spokesman said yesterday. Police have a year and a day to lay death by dangerous driving charges if a victim dies of injuries sustained during the accident.

Father of Ms Binns, taxi driver Mr. Eldon Binns yesterday said there had been no change in his daughter's condition. Other than that, he declined to make any further comment.

"I am just being with my daughter,'' he said. "Outside the welfare of my daughter I have nothing to say.'' Mr. Morton said that the role of the Council was to raise public awareness but that it was up to road users to drive responsibly.

"It is a difficult position because it is not our fault. We can only raise awareness and advise the public of the proper procedures on the road.''