In this reporting period, Monday, December 5th, 2022 to Tuesday January 3rd, 2023, six hundred and thirty-five moving violation tickets (MVTs), were issued for traffic offences, up from four hundred and twenty-eight in the previous reporting period. In addition, during this reporting period sixty-six motorist advisory notices (MANs) were issued up from forty-eight in the previous reporting period.

269 Parking violation tickets were issued up from 171 in the previous reporting period. 8402 MVT’s have been reported since the implementation of Operation Vega on July 1st, 2021.

Robert Cardwell, Acting Superintendent, Tactical Support Division stated: “Operation Vega remains a critical incident and is in line with the Bermuda Police Service’s Strategic Priorities as they relate to reducing harm on our roads. Worryingly, the incidence of impaired driving continues to increase. A situation that should be extreme concern for us all.  There 15 arrests for impaired driving over this Operation Vega reporting period, while for all of 2022, a total of 194 individuals were arrested for driving whilst impaired. This compares with 134 in 2021 and 186 in 2020.

Road side sobriety testing and high vigilance by patrol officers have contributed to these numbers and it appears the public are not taking notice of our pleas to not drink and drive.  We continue to attend a number of collisions where impaired driving is a factor.  That notwithstanding indications are overall traffic collisions are on the decline. However, there remains much work to be done to further reduce these numbers.”

In the fourth quarter of 2022 there were 265 road traffic collisions (RTCs) recorded.  For the same period in 2021, there were 284 RTCs recorded.  A reduction of 19 such incidents.

The break-down of traffic offences reported for the latest reporting period is as follows:

Impaired Driving Arrests        15 (+3)

Speeding                                   295 (+91) Excessive speeds ranged from 57kph to 94kph.  

Traffic Sign                                45 (+16)                 

Unlicensed Vehicle                  79 (+22)                  

No third party insurance           75 (+25)           

No Driver’s license                   60 (+24)      

Manner of driving                    20 (+16)

Disqualified                               14 (+11)                     

Seatbelt                                      5 (+3)                       

Helmet                                        2 (+2)               

Handheld device                       2 (-1)

Defective vehicle                      9 (+7)

Fail to give name/address       0 (0)

Fail to Stop                                 8 (+6)

Fraud Docs                                 0 (-1)

Making False Statement          1 (+1)

License Plate offence                8 (-6)

Tint Offence                               10 (+3)

Youth License Offence              0 (-2)