Operation Vega Update & 2021 Road Traffic Fatalities Clarification

Wed, 2021-10-06

Operation Vega Update

Chief Inspector Robert Cardwell, Tactical Support Division – “Operation Vega continues to be a success. In the period of Operation Vega – 13 weeks – 2,082 moving violation tickets have been issued for offences ranging from driving without due care and attention, unfastened helmet, unlicensed/uninsured vehicles, disobeying traffic signs and speeding. In the last week, speeding offences reported ranged between 55kph and 91kph. The number of tickets issued is up dramatically when compared to the same period in previous years.

The intents of Operation Vega are to calm the roads and reduce collisions. Operation Vega is not solely about issuing tickets. It is equally about effective visibility of our patrols. Being in the right place at the right time so that our visibility brings calm, slows things down and impacts driving behaviour.

In the third quarter of this year – the most recent period of Operation Vega – we have seen collision numbers reduced in all categories but fatalities. Road traffic fatalities currently stand at 12, a sharp increase compared to previous years.

Serious injury collisions for the first three quarters of 2021 are 71, down from 87 in the same three quarters in 2020. Slight injury collisions are down to 397, compared to 456 in the first three quarters of 2020. Damage only collisions are at 403, down from 567 in the first three quarters of 2020.

Our collective message to the public continues to be “slow down”, drive/ride carefully and cautiously and obey traffic signals and signs. Road safety is everyone’s responsibility.”

2021 Road Traffic Fatalities Clarification

Editor’s note: The below clarification is from a police spokesperson, regarding the number of road fatalities recorded so far this year.

The Bermuda Police Service (BPS) can confirm that the number of road fatalities for the year so far is 12, as outlined in this corrected list.

1.           Oronde Wilson Jr.

2.           Odean Phillips

3.           Sylvia Trott

4.           Marvin Lambe

5.           Eugene Thomas

6.           Amber Bridges

7.           Ramond Francis

8.           Ra-Che Williams

9.           Keija Simmons

10.        Flavio Goncalves

11.        Orlando Burch

12.        Allen Trott

The previously unreported deaths of 73-year-old Sylvia Trott and 53-year-old Ramond Francis, which were omitted inadvertently, account for the discrepancy. The BPS extends sincere condolences to their respective families and apologises for the error. Both matters are still under investigation.

Ms. Trott was struck and injured by a car as she attempted to walk across a pedestrian crossing at the junction of Victoria Street and King Street in the City of Hamilton around 7:55am Thursday, 4th March 2021. She was rushed to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital via ambulance and remained in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, ultimately succumbing to her injuries on Sunday, 18th July.

Sylvia Trott was the third road traffic fatality of 2021.

Mr. Francis was injured in a collision at the junction of Middle Road and Fairhaven Lane in Sandys parish when a car exiting Fairhaven Lane heading east and the motorcycle he was riding east along Middle Road around 7:55am Friday, 9th July 2021 collided. He was transported to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital via ambulance for treatment of his injuries and later discharged – but subsequently died on Thursday, 5th August.

Ramond Francis was the seventh road traffic fatality of 2021.