Drivers’ last chance to soak in new speed limits
PC Donovan Chong checks coupons near Lantern Point
(CNS): The RCIPS has begun conducting traffic operations to remind drivers of the new speed limits around Grand Cayman. Traffic management officers began the education campaign Wednesday on the West Bay Road, where the speed limit has dropped from 40mph to 25mph. Speeding drivers were given a free pass but warned that next week the police will start issuing tickets. Starting at around 7am near Governor’s Square, police officers stopped cars to remind motorists about the new speed limit change.
“This first exercise was a courtesy because we realize that a 15mph change in that area is significant, and drivers need to adjust to it,” explained Police Sergeant Lenford Butler.
Officers were also on Shamrock Road near Lantern Point to remind drivers about the speed limits already in place. There drivers were not so lucky as 13 traffic tickets were issued for a variety of traffic offences, including unlicensed vehicles, no certificate of roadworthiness, and one driver was arrested for a using a coupon with intent to deceive.
An RCIPS spokesperson said traffic operations to educate motorists about the new speed limits will continue this week in different locations but next week, speeding tickets will be issued in the new speed locations. “The Traffic Management Unit would like to remind the public to pay attention to these new speed zones in order to avoid expensive fines,” the police added.
Seems to me, regarding (tourist) pedestrians wanting to cross WB Road – how about making those (beach-side) developers build a overhead crosswalks, similar to the Hyatt and Ritz. Come on people, these developers are MAKING MILLIONS of dollars, a simple overhead is a mere fraction of their cost
Maybe when they are stopping cars to warn of the new speed limit, the police should pull cars over instead of stopping them actually on the roundabout at Cost u Less. The police officers concerned obviously have no idea of road safety.
The rocket scientists who made these changes forgot the “KISS” formula: “Keep It Simple, Stupid”. For instance, South Church Street has a 30 mph speed limit, yet West Bay Road has been reduced to 25mph. Where is the logic there? Here is my take: built-up areas: either 25 or 30mph: take your pick: it will make no difference in the greater scheme of things. Then non-built- up areas: 40mph: DONE! Just saying.
I understand the logic behind the reduction on West Bay Road, from 40 to 25, trying to make it safer for pedestrians crossing. What I have observed in the past 2 weeks though is when I try to drive 25-27 there are cars backing up behind me then someone overtakes 4 or 5 cars flying down the centre lane, which is probably much more dangerous than what we had before. I think a reduction from 40 to 30 mph would have been better.
Why are there never any Police monitoring (enforcing the traffic laws) between Spotts Beach and Linford Peirson Highway?
As we are talking about traffic on the by-pass where they are doing the road works there is a sign saying “Less traffic soon”. Where is the traffic going to go so there is less? Little Cayman / Miami?
There will be the same amount of traffic but it will be controlled differently.
How about dealing with the dirt bikes speeding, doing wheelies, riding without helmets, plates etc travelling on the road from Bodden Town to George Town. No one wants to do anything about it. How about stopping them, not until someone gets killed I quess.
Be fair. Those dirt bikes are tricky machines – hard to catch, even harder to keep hold of once caught.
Has anyone seen a 25 mph speed limit sign anywhere on West Bay Road other the one northbound by Harbour Heights?
Yes unfortunately they are the size of two of my kids palms put together….small!
They are small signs probably not bigger than 18″ diameter that for the introduction of the speed limit change (being a reduction at that) there should have been better signage than what is there now.
Come on NRA! SMH
Whoa, the speed limit has changed. It’s not rocket science, deal with it. Wish the cops would solve some crime instead of wasting time telling people to pay attention when they are freaking driving. BTW – to the RCIPS officer in his work car tailing me so I would speed up on South Church… are you going to follow the new speed limits too?
On the smaller roads, the speed limit has been raised to 30mph from 25mph. We’re to drive slower for our visitors on the “big smb road” but we’re now allowed to drive faster on the smaller and heavily populated roads where our visitors and locals walk and ride. These smaller roads don’t even have sidewalks for any considerable length but we’re allowed to drive faster around them now according to the “New and Improved Traffic Law”. If a cup of water can drown someone, what makes them think that 25mph wont kill someone either?
It would’ve been nice if they had put up some signs where the speed limit has changed to bring peoples attention to it. Not everyone reads the news and those that do might not have memorized all the roads that have changed. Sure the speed limit signs have changed but if you have driven the roads long enough you don’t read the signs because you already know the limit.
So you would read a sign next to the speed limit sign telling you to read the speed limit sign, but not the speed limit sign itself (unless you were told by the other sign – which of course you would read).
Any update on payment collection on the outstanding speeding tickets? Any updates on how this is going to be dealt with going forward?
Glad that people are ticketed now, but if they don’t have to cough up payment and feel the pain, then we are really not any further than we were to begin with, are we?
You got to be kidding me???? Stop coddling people like babies. When you go somewhere on vacation you are expected to READ the signs without having a courtesy crash course coming your way first before hitting the road.
This is also funny as we all know that speed limits are not going to be enforced anyway.
BTW – I was in traffic this morning behind a marked RCIP vehicle. Traffic came to a halt because a school bus stopped in the middle of the by-pass to let kids on and someone decided to go around the bus rather than waiting behind as should be done by law.
I leave it to you to decide if you think police in front of me took any action. Perhaps they weren’t on duty or it was the “wrong” unit to deal with such offenses but then they shouldn’t be driving around in a marked vehicle. If you are in a RCIP marked car, you are on duty!
Out of interest can you let us know where in the Traffic Law does it state that in the Law?
The bus driver swings out a stop sign which becomes a official road sign that is to be observed by everyone not ignored as wanted.
Traffic Law 2011 section 93.(1)
A person who does any of the following commits an offence and is punishable under section 138 …
(j) fails to give ample clearance to a school vehicle or overtakes such vehicle while it is engaged in setting down or picking up passengers.
Does this help?
Below is the link:
http://caymanroads.com/index.php?option=com_deeppockets&task=catShow&id=40&tid=40&Itemid=34
By the way – whilst this is clearly set out in the law, common sense should prevail without every damn detail being written down in law and nobody is THAT important that they can’t wait a minute behind a school bus.
Out of being as bored as hell with nothing better to do and sensing you are actually being obnoxious rather than puzzled, I will tell you:
Section 93. (1) A person who does any of the following commits an offence and is punishable under section 138 –
….
(j) fails to give ample clearance to a school vehicle or overtakes
such vehicle while it is engaged in setting down or picking up
passengers;
Section 138 – liable on summary conviction to a fine of two
thousand five hundred dollars or to imprisonment for six months, or to both
25mph is ridiculous.
Unless you are hit by a car at 30mph and have twice the chance of being killed compared to 25mph.
More flipping traffic now. Ass****
The amount of cars on the road will be unchanged. The net travel time is unlikely to be negatively affected because of reduced need for braking, smoother flow and less accidents.
I think to do this job properly to make sure that every driver on the Island is warned , that should take about 12 to 15 days , and that’s going to be too much sun for the officer and he would need a/c the second day , and the next one would learn it’s too dam hot out there .
Where are the speed cameras on West Bay Road, which would allow the Traffic Dept of the RCIPS to get on with other work. In a small town in the UK where a major road passes through, the Police allowed a similar one week probationary period after the cameras were installed – in that period, 25,000 drivers were subsequently notified, as a formality, that they had been exceeding the speed limit.
Apart from a potential source of revenue, these camera systems are a huge deterent to drivers who previously might have taken a chance of not being caught by a patrol car’s radar gun.
Yep, have stated the same thing over and over again. RCIP still operating like its 1999, but let’s buy some more vehicles rather than investing in automated speed traps.
You might want to re-read that article as it was a private speed camera and the police could only notify an infringement not ticket, but it is a good point.
Dont give RCIPS an excuse for buying more cameras from the Security Centre!