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Curious about road deaths in Bermuda, I went back almost 40 years, to 1970 and I saw something that puzzled me.

In 1975, with much less traffic on the roads, but with thousands of tourists wobbling about, Bermuda had 25 road deaths. In 2002, with far more traffic but admittedly fewer tourists wobbling about, we had TWO road deaths.

Why the huge difference?

Digging deeper, I saw that over the 39 year span from 1970 to 2008, there were 21 years when annual road deaths were ten or less. In fact, there were eight years when we had annual road death totals of six or less.

So what is it that we were doing so right - or so much better - in those eight low-death years? What did we get so wrong in the eight years when the annual road death toll was fifteen or higher? What was different?

Do we have even the faintest idea why and how we could swing between a one-year low of TWO and a one-year high of TWENTY-FIVE?

Were the roads exceptionally well maintained in 2002 but terribly maintained in 1975? Was it an exceptionally dry year in 2002 and monsoon-like in 1975? In 2002, did we all drive or ride less and run and walk more? Were the police really doing an almost perfect job 2002 but totally negligent in 1975? Were we all so sensible and careful and wise in 2002 - and absolutely crazy in 1975?

What was different, and what is different, between our high-death and low-death years?

The road death total for the six-year period 1970 - 1975 is 111. During that period, road deaths ranged from a low of 12 in 1974 and a high of 25 in 1975. But for the six years from 1990 - 1995, the road death total was 43 - 68 fewer road deaths. The range was from five in 1990 to 11 in 1994.

It seems to me that over the full 39 year period, some years were light, some heavy.

Over the whole period, from January 1, 1970 to December 31, 2008, Bermuda had 405 road deaths. Add the ten - so far - for 2009 and we have 415 road deaths. With only 140 miles of roads, it looks to me like every Bermuda road mile is a 'triple deadly mile'.

The act of our driving around in cars and on bikes means that we take and accept a certain level of risk. If we all foreswear bikes and cars and we all use 'Shanks Pony', we could eliminate all road deaths. As well, we would enjoy a much slower pace of life. That slower pace would be good for our hearts and physiques, and for tourism. But probably not so good for international business.

So if we choose to stick with our expensive cars and convenient bikes, we're also choosing to keep dicing with death. It seems to me that the roulette wheel of death spins to a law of its own. Just as the croupier tosses the ball onto a spinning roulette wheel; so you toss yourself into the game when you move off on your bike or in your car.

But in this roulette game, you have many controls. You can control how you behave - and thus lower your risk of making a headline that you won't read. Second - you can stay as alert as possible so that you can avoid another person turning you into a headline that she'll read - but you won't. Third, you can control the quantity of drugs or alcohol that you allow to enter your body.

Or, safest of all, you can walk. But even if you walk, you'll still need to keep a sharp eye out for somebody else trying hard to turn you into a headline.

So tomorrow morning when and however you choose to start playing traffic roulette, remember, it is a deadly game. You lose if you make the headline that you won't read!

Be safe. Be a winner. Be the person who reads the headline - but do not make some other guy or gal a name in the headline that they won't read.[[In-content Ad]]

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