27 DUI arrests over the holidays
(CNS): During Operation Ice Crystals, the RCIPS holiday safety campaign which ran from 7 December through 2 January, police officers made a total of 27 DUI arrests, issued 30 citations for speeding, 39 citations for using a mobile phone while driving, 32 citations for failing to wear seat belts and 65 citations for expired registration. There were also a number of arrests and citations for driving without proper qualification, according to the RCIPS.
“Generally speaking, we had a ‘quiet’ New Year’s Eve, with no serious accidents, thanks to the anti-drunk driving initiatives of many groups on island, including the National Drug Council, CIMRA and others,” said Sergeant Lenford Butler of the Traffic Management Unit. “In addition, we also substantially increased our police presence during the holiday weekends. I am glad to say this all appears to have had an impact.”
Throughout the month of December police officers made 10 arrests and issued 5 citations for the different offenses denoting driving without proper qualification, including driving while disqualified, without a licence, without being qualified or with an expired licence, police said.
“This is a high number and could explain some of the poor driving we see on the roads,” said Sgt Butler. “Drivers’ licences must be obtained and maintained for a reason. If you drive without qualification, you can be disqualified, and if you drive while disqualified, you can go to prison.”
Even though Operation Ice Crystals has ended, police said that the Traffic Management Unit continues its regular road enforcement, with a focus on specific types of violations in response to community concerns and officers’ own observations on the road.
Heavy fine and loss of licence for five years would fix it. As would constant police presence outside drinking establishments waiting to pounce when drivers drive off without their lights on or with a non functioning light -any excuse to stop and breathalyze them.
One DUI a day? LOL, that’s a joke. Over the holidays I was at a couple of functions where RCIPS could not only have busted more drunks than that in an hour but several of them would have been fairly well known local names. Guess the cops know where to avoid?
Sounds like RCIPS had “27 days of christmas” on this one
Surprise Surprise why would the Traffic Management Unit stop such a successful program or do they have intelligence to say drivers only break the laws during Christmas.
This place is in serious need of a proper public transportation system.
Hopefully Dart will do something about it as they seem to be the only ones that get s#!t done around here.
You are kidding? You have seen those monstrous roads that continue to be being built around his development (and, increasingly, elsewhere). A decent public transportation system would have resolved much of the congestion problem, but that’s clearly not part of the Dart plan.
We need better roads AND public transport that is not buses/taxis. If you think just a decent public transportation system would solve the problems here you’re kidding yourself. People still need to drive to get around on decent roads which are finally being improved on. If Dart could get some train system running from Rum Point to WB that would be ideal.
Agreed. Some routes for public transport here are almost non existent or totally unreliable. then they want to promote taking public transport or carpooling, lol.
bring in uber. problem solved.
Do you think Uber is cheap? It certainly wouldn’t be in Cayman. There are certain people who feel that it is their right to drive their car no matter what condition they are in. The police in Cayman need to have a constant presence on the roads throughput the Year, not just a three week campaign once a year.
prices will be determined by the free market… it will be at least 50% cheaper than the taxi cartel price list….
Hoping the RCIP will continue to do thier job all year long and not just during the Christmas holidays. Surely the Top Cop can see that having regular road blocks and more visible police patrols help get the job done.
I’d like to see a list of offenses committed by taxi drivers over charging customers over the holiday period. They’re the real criminals here.
When people are arrested and charged with other crimes their names are usually published in CNS and the newspapers as part of the story. Why not publish the names of the 27 DUIs charged over Christmas? It is not a secret, it’s publicly available information, the court list is published online every day (and pinned up in the courthouse). I think the thought of having names published in the press may help to make driving drunk the social stigma that it should be.
It’s a traffic offense not a hit and run. Obviously could lead to one but didn’t. You want public flogging for fidelity too?
success on dui will require it to become completely taboo to do it. Yes public shaming – “social flogging” will be required. just ask the new chief of police… drink driving in Ireland went from comon place in the 1980’s to almost unheard of now. It is not the thought of the police catching you that stopped it, its the fear that your friends would find out and you would be shunned.
Amen
How do you get from a name taken from publicly available information being put on CNS or in the paper to ‘public flogging’. And what do you mean ‘for fidelity’. Try sobering up before you post.
Drunk driving kills
Yes!
They are not named until after their appearance in court: that is the law. However the local media is not too good at reporting names after conviction. They should improve this service to the public and thus the culprits will receive the shame they deserve.
At least we will be informed to keep out of the sot’s way.