A 38-year-old motorcyclist has become Bermuda's third road fatality of 2009.

Moses Jacobs died at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital yesterday afternoon from injuries he sustained in a single-vehicle crash over the weekend.

Mr. Jacobs, from Pembroke, was rushed to intensive care with serious head and internal injuries after the accident near Jew's Bay on Middle Road, Southampton, at about 5.40 a.m. Saturday.

Police said he was travelling east when he lost control of his bike and collided with a "residence in the area".

A Police spokesman said he was pronounced dead at KEMH at 2.25 p.m. yesterday. He added: "The Bermuda Police Service would like to express our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased."

The fatal accident follows the deaths of two other young men already this year on Bermuda's roads.

Hotel worker James Robert Smith, 24, was killed after his motorcycle hit a parked car close to his home in Somerset in the early hours of January 9.

And Kevin Mooney, a 29-year-old firefighter, died after crashing his motorcycle into a sidewalk in Warwick in the early hours of March 10.

Road safety campaigner Angel Nottingham, of Remembering Our Loved Ones (ROLO), said last night that the Island had to acknowledge it had a major problem.

"I'd like to extend our condolences to the Jacobs family," she said. "It's unfortunate we are only three months into the year with three road fatalities. We have to be mindful that accidents are avoidable.

"I really don't know what it will take for us to come to that as a community, to come to that conclusion. It's obviously a major problem. It just seems as if it's becoming too commonplace and it's becoming acceptable. We need to make it to a point where it's not acceptable and find a solution to the problem."

Acting Transport Minister Elvin James said: "On behalf of the Government, I express my condolences to the family and friends of Moses Jacobs.

"It is a reminder to all of us that road safety must be on our minds at every moment. A consistent and heightened road safety awareness is our best defence against tragedy on the roads."

Shadow Transport Minister Michael Fahy also sent condolences to the deceased man's family. He said: "This is really terrible news because now we are hitting our third death in three months, which means we are already on target for another high year of road deaths."

The Opposition politician added: "We need to think carefully about what we can do immediately to reduce the number of road deaths. We have made some proposals that can be implemented immediately."

Sen. Fahy said the culture in Bermuda needed to change and more Police officers needed to be out on the roads late at night and in the early hours.

"We need to make sure that the Police have the resources to have an increased presence and a presence that is maintained to act as a deterrent."

He said there had been a noticeable increase in Police on the roads recently but that it could be difficult to maintain given the reduction in the Police budget this year. If it isn't maintained, warned Sen. Fahy, "I think this trend is going to sadly continue".

Police are appealing for witnesses to Saturday's accident to call Somerset Police Station on 234-1010.