Plateless cars cause concern as numbers grow
(CNS): There are now hundreds of cars on Cayman’s roads with no licence plates due to unexplained delays in the Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing roll out of its new electronic plate system. The switch aimed to allow the RCIPS check the details of cars more quickly and ensure that licence plates are not being used for any criminal purpose. But having so many cars on the roads without plates appears to be creating a security headache for the police.
Owners of newly registered vehicles have been receiving laminated sheets of paper with temporary registration numbers, which are being displayed on dashboards or rear windows, but they are not easily seen by other road users, CCTV or police, making it difficult to track rogue drivers.
And criminals are exploiting the now common sight on the road of plateless cars. The getaway vehicle used in the armed robbery of a cash van outside Foster’s supermarket last Saturday had no licence plates, but under the current state of affairs that is no longer something that would trigger a report to the police or even cause an officer to pull the car over.
“The lack of actual licence plates on vehicles is a policing concern. It can make such vehicles harder to trace and detect or identify via CCTV. We are meeting and working collaboratively with the DVDL to address these issues,” the RCIPS told CNS this week when asked about an issue that has been raised by many of our readers.
CNS contacted the DVDL, who have not yet commented on the issue to explain the delay or when the new plates will begin to be distributed. The department director said that a press release was being prepared about the situation, but there was still no sign of the release or any comment from the DVDL by Thursday evening, as government closed up for the Easter break.
The DVDL stated at the end of last year, after it began issuing the temporary laminated paper registration plates, that the new ones would be on island by the start of 2017, that staff were already being trained and the DVDL would begin embossing the new electronically coded plates with registration numbers by February.
Category: Crime, Crime Prevention
The constitution provides for a National Security Council on which appointees from the public can voice their concerns to the governor about just this sort of thing and find out what’s being done about it. Meetings are called by the governor or the premier. As far as I’m aware, neither has ever called one.
Says it all really. Smug, idle, couldn’t care less.
Woah! Wait a second. Another appallingly incompetent, retardedly slow Cayman debacle? Surely not.
What a mess. They don’t even police the plates covered so you can’t see the numbers why would they police paper plates. In fact, why would they police at all? I was in Little Cayman recently and it was so nice not having idiots on motorbikes speeding down the middle of the road all hours of the day/night.
If government is so useless then you should make the expats run the DMVL. They run the Banks, the law firms, the Chambers, etc….
Who is the Minister responsible for DMVL? He is the person who should be held responsibile for this fiasco. Whatever happened to Ministerial accountability?
All of this is down to ENFORCEMENT, or more importantly, the LACK THEREOF. Most traffic laws are not obeyed. Only when there’s an accident or a robbery, do the police say “Oh they had no licence plate either” and get them on that offence. There’s nothing proactive about our police or the government.
I wonder, if a car is not properly plated under the law, even whether its insurance is valid? If not, government could be facing some heavy financial liability.
To the extent this is a law and order issue, it comes within the governor’s jurisdiction; and to the extent a civil service incompetence one, the deputy governor’s. One of them needs to take responsibility, step up and at least explain the situation. At least one of you GOVERN, for God’s sake, instead of just partying and exercising! The vehicle licensing department, having promised an immediate statement (presumably with their fingers crossed behind their backs) then chose silence, in the hope that the Easter break would somehow magic the problem away.
The civil service, from the top down, is totally appalling.
Wonder how many people waiting for their PR are also waiting for their number plates? What a mess the government have made of these things. And they want us to re-elect them!
Whoever caused this debacle needs to be terminated immediately!
A lunatic scheme from the get-go. And millions of dollars for what? To catch the occasional lawbreaker swapping plates over. Big deal.This is a 28 by 8 mile island for crying out loud. Kurt’s going out under a cloud of BS as far as I’m concerned.What a waste of money that could have been spent on so many more pressing needs like taking care of our elderly, for example.
Beside cooking turtle meat and setting up the Bars, kurt was always useless.
Many countries , have prisoners make the plates , their sure are plenty of willing and eager people in prison to do that work for a pittance , why not do it here ?
Exactly what was expected of those who are in charge of the “Smart” stuff on Grand Cayman Islands. Same clowns, same circus, same lame results. Failure here is thought of very differently then in a first world country. That is why this is considered normal and it will not change.
8:57 , it won’t change because the voters will vote them back in and then complain and then vote them back in again , complain, over and over again. the blame needs to go to the Voters, they should gain some sense and don’t vote them in.
Surprised that no one has commented yet on:
1. the proliferation of vehicles without front plates – some sort of vanity expression?
2. the fact that DMVL was taking away plates on the basis that they were worn – but presumably could have been repainted quite easily – for at least the last 2 years,
What bothers me more are those drivers who DO have proper plates for their vehicles but chose NOT to have one properly mounted at the front of their vehicle. It’s like it is optional these days.
Another issue is the dump trucks who have license plates which nobody can read cause they are encrusted with dirt…. or the many trailers being pulled around with no break lights and no plates either.
Why is RCIP not enforcing the law and why are they not talking with Government to let them know that this licensing mess is causing huge issues. It’s like everyone turning a blind eye, pretending the pink elephant isn’t in the room.
And as usual…. nobody in Government taking responsibility for this mess.
Do you mean brake lights?
Mine is not even laminated. I bought a new Kia in January, no info on when, if ever, I will get real plates. Just a flipping piece of 8-1/2 by 11″ copier paper. Way to drop the ball CIG.
Banana, anyone?
This Government is just reckless!
The Cayman Islands Registration Plates are described in law. If the DVDL is issuing anything other than the prescribed plates, they are aiding and abetting an offense.
For every vehicle that is operating on the road without the prescribed plates, the minister responsible and the commissioner for the DVDL should be issued a traffic citation for aiding and abetting the mentioned traffic offense as well as distributing fraudulent laminated paper plates as these do not meet the primary reflective trait of a Registration Plate.
New vehicle owners should not be ticketed as they took the appropriate steps to acquire legal registration plates and instead, we issued with Fake Plates [laminated paper numbers — what a joke]. I am also told that someone with criminal intent can easily type, print and laminate any numbers they want to displayed on their get away vehicle —- total madness!!!
Should we call this malfeasance?
I totally agree, just licensed my boat trailer, same thing, fake plates. By observation here on the Brac, I am the only one with a insured and licensed boat trailer, the police are at Scott’s dock, and all other launching ramps, and they don’t even get out of their cars to check for plates or insurance; guess the law only applier to some of us, as 80 percent of all trailers of all sorts here are uninsured or licensed, there is a boat ramp opposite the police station here, you would think officers could sit at their desks with binoculars and see who has no plates or working lights. The fact that so many are on the road without working brake and signal light is scary, only a matter of time before someone is hurt because of this negligence, or lack of proper enforcement of the traffic law here in Cayman Brac, and I am sure the problem exist in Cayman too! the traffic department of RCIPS need to address this matter as soon as possible
1:17 pm, you are right on the Brac you must be the only one that have your boat trailer licensed ( also People have trailers towing behind their trucks transporting all sorts of things ,without license plates and not being licensed) and the Police won’t do anything about it. If one of these Trailers comes loose and hits some one who going to pay, i think the Police should have to pay, for they won’t do anything about it.
Cns i believe it is thouaands of cars with temporary plates not hundreds. I saw a temporary plate the other day with 6414. Someone should be held accountable for this poor management.
i am just glad the management of DVDL does not run the supermarkets because we would all starve to death waiting on food.
Nobody starves in Cayman. Hungry is when the fourth snack of the morning is missed, only compensated by a longer lunch break.
That statement is spot on!
Lots of hungry people in Cayman; wake-up!
one on Walkers Road this morning bright and early flying like a bat out of hell!
And, as is normal with government departments, no one will be held publicly accountable or terminated for disposing of public money with incompetence on a contract with unachievable deliverables.
You forgot to mention that there is no fix for this but time. Lots of time. Not in our lifetime time.
No, it is not the person in the government department that should be held responsible but the cockamany Minister who approved this dumb scheme.
It is already chaos at the licensing centres which have not kept growth with the number of vehicles. So many law abiding people have to line up for the simple task of renewing a coupon, the online system has never worked properly. Now imagine the line up when those hundreds of cars show up for the new plates which by all accounts amount to an infringement of human rights and a police state. It will not be long before the system is abused and a legal challenge forthcoming.
Government are bloody useless let alone to run a country!
All governments are useless. Us a mere third man to our foods, education, resources, and kids even at times. If you think you have seen poor government wait till the Pope and his ‘guise take charge.
We bought a car in late Dec and it arrived early Jan and DVDL told me the new plate machine was not expected until June, with training, earliest plates would be July starting with oldest in the backlog. DVDL should just require drivers to display their temps in the proper plate locations. Too many are either not on display or obscured behind black-tinted rear glass. RCIPS could fill stacks of ticket books on this alone.
Only if they are enforcing the laws. When was the last time you saw them doing that?
I had no idea they were saying June. Thanks for the info. My paper tag is in tatters already. Guess I can always copy it on my $79 inkjet…just like the criminals. But we all know to add at least six months to that roll out time. So we have, at minimum, six months of ‘free for all’ for criminals, likely more than a year. Way to go CIG.
Why roll out a new system when you are completely and wholly unprepared? Beyond stupid. Who got paid for this contract? There must be some party that benefited. Oh, let me guess, it is privileged, and blocked from an FOI.
Your IPhone or Samsung tracks and records your location. How’s that for you.! Stop the bellyaching.
Except you can turn it off
Can you really turn it off tho? While you think it is off, it is still tracking you. The only way to stop that is to disconnect the battery hence why they are making phones fully encased and unable to remove the battery. Everyone is traceable at all times.
Suckered by an American supersalesman.
Just knock off your anti-American BS.
I have talked to friends about this reckless act and the views are the same. Thisvis one of the most reckless acts that a government can allow to happen, if someone hit your car you can’t even see a proper licence plate to record a number. Why introduce a new system until you are properly in possession of the required tools to implement. Very very reckless
If you could see who gets more gravy from this BS it might surprise you. It’s all about money!
The reason for the delay is SIDD (same island different day) no project that is undertaken by the Island Gov. EVER gets started or completed on time. Name one.
I believe it’s still a requirement to have the temporary licence plate on display, a road check would be able to spot cars without any plates and be dealt with accordingly…
There is no requirement, the act is illegal. Paper laminated plate numbers are not recognized by the Law.
Nice idea but that requires someone to get out of the police station and then out of their police car. Why do that when it all pays the same. Civil servant (?) attitude will never change.
“but under the current state of affairs that is no longer something that would trigger a report to the police or even cause an officer to pull the car over.”
The law states all vehicles must clearly display a CAYMAN ISLANDS license plate by not doing so they are breaking the law. All vehicles that are given a temp plate should be displaying it correctly, if not ticket them.
TO the Commissioner: For years vehicles have got away with all kinds of offenses because the COMMISSIONER let them, START doing your job and ticket them!!
How would you like me to display it?
I was stop by police after 5pm on my way home from work. Reason was the officer couldn’t see my paper plate displayed in my legal tinted back window. Bought the new car in January I explained over and over. The poor example of an officer told me to tape it on the car…After 20 minutes of back and forth debate I told him to sit on the trunk and hold it in place.
He got in the police car and drove off….WTH
He should have ticketed you. You are in the wrong – could tape the ticket to the inside of the window – and the law states the registration must be visible and perpendicular. No need for you to give him BS for trying to enforce the law.
lol, the writer just said the paper was displayed properly on the legally tinted backglass. I’ve seen brand new cars like this, they come factory tinted a certain percent so there is nothing the owner can do to lighten that. Perhaps the cop just wanted to harass somebody. DVDL should have continued with the normal plates until they had EVERYTHING in place to start issuing the new ones.
They put the cart before the horse and maybe this was some political ploy to make it seem like a certain administration as actually doing ‘something’. It’s all too rushed, they are clearly unprepared and now everyone is paying for the consequences.
I attached my temporary plate to the fixture provided by the car manufacturer using the prescribed attachment screws, to comply with the law, but then in rained and fell off.
Why do you want to ticket me? I did absolutely nothing wrong. I just bought a car. If GIG laminating ability is non existent is that my responsibility? But the burden on the party at blame.
First of all; why start a new system when you don’t even have the item you need to implement it, on island? How idiotic is that? Secondly, if you’re going to hand out bits of flimsy plastic covered paper – why can’t DVDL state categorically where it has to be displayed? Why allow people to simply put them where they want? There are probably drivers who have stowed them in the glove compartment! What with this nonsense and the black-tinted car windows – it’s almost as though Government are trying to create an ideal situation for criminal behaviour. For goodness sake – get a grip, someone; how hard can it be?
Stop complaining over stupid things. The temporary plates ARE to be displayed as well. The LAW caters for the issuance in temporary plates. It’s there, I looked.
The problem is the lack of police enforcement. They are not on the roads doing their jobs. Are we going to blame the slack third world driving habits of some on the DVDL as well???!! No! It’s the police who have once again dropped the ball!!!
What does it matter what the law says? You’ve missed the point! The point is – there is no need for this to happen. You do have the point when you say the police are not enforcing the law; it’s becoming increasingly clear that people do exactly what they like – so add to the tinted windows, cell phone use which is SO prevalent that it’s almost every other car that has a driver using their phone. They
couldn’t care less what the law says.
Now come on. Surely even you can see the sense in continuing with the previous registration system until the new one is in place, and then rolling out the new registration system. Then we would have had no temp plates and no need for additional police work. What is being done now is plain backwards and stupid.
Can these electronic plates track you everywhere you go? If so, isn’t this an infringement on privacy? I don’t think anyone should be able to track me if I am not breaking the law.
Finally. I’ve been wondering about this myself.
you are assuming that some civil servant will know how to operate the system. I would not worry. It will be scraped in a few years.
Yeah, scrapped in a few years, after having spent tons of $$$ right?
WTF man. Sick of my people doing foolishness with the public’s $$$.
Spending aimlessly. As always, cart before horse!!!!
A complete and utter disgrace, and a classic example of the incompetence of our overcrowded and couldnt-care-less civil service.
But you won’t hear the politicians say that because they make up about half of the electorate.
Another case of government failing to observe the old 5 “Ps” adage.
“Preplanning Prevents Piss Poor Performance”
What a mess.
vote all ppm out
There are only 3 individuals to vote for in the PPM party: David Wight, Wayne Panton and Marco Archer.
All others, no go!
I hate to say this but there needs to be accountability when projects like this do not deliver as expected and within the projected delivery dates. Why at the DVDL or within government is responsible for this project not moving forward as expected?
Responsible? It’s hard to find anyone responsible in GIG!
Ah, Cayman…. Drop one system before the next one is ready… Complete the following word… Incomp…..
So true!
No fricking surprise, given the constant mismanagement on this rock. I was shocked when I bought my new car that Govt. did not have license plates, that was in January. It halfway through April, and still no plates? Really WTF. This is a license to commit crime. How do these people still get elected? Is there no one here with even a quarter of a brain?
Well, yes. I have a quarter of a brain, but I’m smart enough to stay out of government.
Yet another spying apparatus courtesy of our UK colonial master and brought to us by our local UK muppets the PPM
Never used in the UK, Get your facts right. You need to look a little closer Mexico and just google it shows it to be totally useless.
By your use of the word “muppets” I’d guess you’re a Brit and are therefore trolling.
PPM are useless, vote for others, not PPM
Yet another ignorant view of the world at large. Did you vote for the “Gambler”?
Classic example of conspiracy theories are best served warm whilst wearing a foil hat and stood next to a microwave oven.
Who needs to spy when you can sit in the country and western or in Northside and hear all the politival shit you want?
This ill concieved idea by the British to spy on citizens on this island has go awry what a real shame eh Down with the PPM and its UK stooges.
They’re really not interested. You just paranoid.
7:08 pm, if they are not interested, why are so many of them here, what are you smoking.
Just say yes to UK rule and get rid of the fools in the system for good. Or just live with the Dumb and dumber system you have now. Your choice.
Yes …down with this sort of thing.