Two people, one of them 81 years old, died after separate traffic collisions that happened minutes apart on Tuesday evening.

Leon Eugene Thomas, 81, known as Eugene, and Marvin Lambe, 56, were the third and fourth deaths on the roads this year.

A police spokesman said Mr Thomas, from Southampton, was seriously injured at around 5.47pm on Tuesday as he tried to cross South Road in Southampton near the junction of Lighthouse Road.

He was hit by a motorcycle travelling west and was later pronounced dead at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

The spokesman said: “The motorcyclist involved, said to be a 19-year-old Paget man, apparently sustained injuries to his leg and back and was admitted to the hospital for treatment.

“He was also arrested and later bailed in connection with this fatal collision.”

Mr Lambe, from Smith’s, was seriously injured about 15 minutes earlier.

He was riding a motorcycle east on North Shore Road in Hamilton Parish when he was in collision with the back of a car that had stopped to allow two people to use a pedestrian crossing near the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo.

The two people using the crossing were hit by Mr Lambe’s bike, police said.

The spokesman said: “Despite life-saving efforts at the crash site and being rushed to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital via ambulance, sadly Mr Lambe was later pronounced dead.

“The two pedestrians struck by the motorcycle, said to be a 53-year-old Devonshire man and a 27-year-old Hamilton Parish woman, were treated for non-life threatening injuries and later discharged.

“The driver of the car, said to be a 38-year-old Hamilton Parish woman, was not hurt.”

Police have launched investigations into the incidents.

Chief Inspector Robert Cardwell said that Covid-19 restrictions had led to less traffic on the roads and a deterioration in the standard of driving.

Mr Cardwell added: “Some people have taken the liberty of that reduction in traffic on the roads to drive faster, ride carelessly, dangerous driving – we are seeing an increase in that.

“We are seeing the social media posts of people who are fed up with it and don’t want to drive on the roads because of the dangerous activity that is occurring.”

He appealed to road users to slow down and drive more carefully and warned that police would be on patrol to enforce the law.

But Mr Cardwell added: “There is no amount of policing we can do to substantially calm down the roads – that comes down to individual choice and decision making.

“We are asking people to be conscious of the decisions they are making so they are not getting caught speeding and not getting in collisions.”

Dennis Lister III, the chairman of the Road Safety Council, said: “In the last 24 hours we have seen a spate of road collisions and we ask and implore motorists to drive safer.

“Slowing your speed, paying attention, not using electronic devices and minimising distractions are all ways to reduce collisions.

“We all share our roads, and must do our part to make them safer.”

A third collision, on South Road near Devonshire Bay, which happened about the same time, is also under investigation.

A policeman said the two people involved in the collision – a 40-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman, both from Sandys – were injured at about 6pm after their motorcycles collided.

The spokesman said it appeared “that the 21-year-old woman was riding east along South Road and attempted to turn onto Devonshire Bay Road, while the 40-year-old man was riding west along South Road, when the collision occurred”.

He added: “Apparently the 21-year-old woman sustained facial injuries, while the 40-year-old man sustained a broken rib and an ankle injury.

“At last check, both remained in the hospital.”

Police appealed for witnesses to all three incidents.