Cops keep rounding up drunk drivers

| 06/02/2018 | 31 Comments

(CNS): Police believe the ongoing traffic enforcement crackdown is deterring drivers from drinking and driving, speeding and other violations. But these offences continue and over the past week officers have arrested eleven drunk drivers, one of whom was three times over the limit, and attended 66 road crashes. In one roadblock on Sunday they issued 19 speeding tickets, with six people warned that they will be prosecuted for excessive speeding, as well as five traffic tickets and two citations for excessive tint. 

Inspector Ian Yearwood of the Traffic and Roads Policing Unit said people getting behind the wheel drunk was still a major problem.

“DUIs continue to be an area of concern for us, especially as we continue to see persons choosing to drive with blood alcohol levels as high as two times and sometimes over three times the legal limit,” he said. “Drunk driving threatens all road users at any time of year, and our operations to combat this will continue. But we also carry out traffic enforcement operations throughout the week to address a variety of traffic violations.”

He said Sunday’s traffic operation on Linford Pierson Highway was to address speeding due to community complaints.

“We believe that our presence on the roads week in and week out is a deterrent to those who are considering driving under the influence, speeding, or committing some other traffic violations,” Yearwood said, adding that police would continue to enforce the traffic laws.

From the list of people arrested for DUI this week, a 28-year-old woman from George Town, who was found to be more than three times over the limit, was apprehended after a collision with a stationary container off the road. Just after midnight on Monday, 5 February, officers were called to the smash on North Sound Road south of the A.L. Thompson roundabout. The driver, who was not injured, was observed to be unsteady on her feet and a roadside breath test was conducted. She was arrested on suspicion of DUI with a blood alcohol content of 0.308%. She has since been bailed.

Another driver arrested for drunk driving was caught when he was on Shamrock Road near the Grand Harbour roundabout around midnight on Saturday, where officers were carrying out coupon checks. With a long outdated coupon on the Nissan Skyline, the police spoke to the 24-year-old driver from George Town and detected the booze on his breath. A roadside breath test was conducted with a result of 0.117%. Police also soon learned that the driver was unable to produce a licence. He was arrested on suspicion of DUI, driving without being qualified, driving without insurance, and using a vehicle with expired registration. He was later bailed.

During Saturday’s operation on Linford Pierson Highway near the Kings Sports Centre roundabout, police stopped a driver who was travelling at almost 20mph over the speed limit. As they approached the vehicle, the driver attempted to drive off, but was prevented from doing so by the officers, who told him to exit the vehicle. However, the driver was observed to be acting suspiciously and he and the male passenger with him were detained.

A search of the vehicle turned up multiple weapons, including a knife and a machete. The officers also detected the strong scent of ganja emanating from the vehicle. The driver, a man aged 24 of George Town, was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon, driving under the influence of drugs, consumption of ganja, driving without being qualified, and other related offenses.

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Category: Crime, Police

Comments (31)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    More firm action is needed. I would suggest:

    1.Speedy trials within a week of the arrest.
    2. Automatic jail term of 2 months minimum.
    3. Seizure of the vehicle for sale at auction.
    4. Revocation of any right to work or remain in Cayman for non-Caymanians.
    5. A weekly photo run naming and shaming these low-lives in the local press.

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  2. SSM345 says:

    Why is this a surprise to the RCIPS? We all been saying it for years; DUI is part of the culture on this island as the RCIPS have done F’all for years apart from the December crackdown. Every single watering hole and liquor store has drunk drivers on their premises at all times of the day / night, year round.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    It’s a pleasure to read that RCIPS is cracking down on these drunk drivers and other traffic violators. People don’t realise the work involved in combatting this offence and bringing these people to justice. It’s an horrendous amount on a daily basis to deal with. A lot of man hours are needed. This, together with the armed robberies, shootings, stabbings, rapes and murders and don’t mention the Honda car thieves. Then there’s the drug running canoes. The list is endless!!! So please people, don’t criticise RCIPS for putting a few boots on the road. They can’t seem to be doing right for doing wrong with some of you. I really don’t think you realise how much crime there is on this island and there will never be enough officers to eradicate it. However, a little more vigilance and help in phoning crime stoppers would certainly help to keep this island safer.

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  4. Anonymous says:

    cow itch or cat of nine whip????

  5. Anonymous says:

    66 smashes! That’s an outrageous number for 1 week on this small island! I think the RCIPS shouldn’t have to go to every smash. The people involved in minor fender benders can exchange insurance and deal with this that way, no? And pull off to the side of the road! I haven’t been in a wreck here but is it the law to stay where you crashed?

    • Anonymous says:

      You have to report the accident to the police, but the police do not need to attend if it is minor and the insurance details are exchanged

  6. Anonymous says:

    So what happens when someone is caught driving without a valid license or valid insurance or valid sticker? Presumably that person won’t be allowed to get back in the car?

  7. ConwayT says:

    Perhaps the RCIPS could name and shame if they blow past the legal limit once a month… Pride somehow has a way of making people think twice.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Sounds illegal without due process doesn’t, bud?

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      • Anonymous says:

        Being arrested seems to be some kind of secret. Its a Brit thing.

      • Anonymous says:

        The fact of failing a breathalyzer test could be published without any due process issue. Whether that failure establishes the elements of drinking with excess blood alcohol is a separate matter for the courts and the courts require due process.

        • Anonymous says:

          So, I get in my car on my way to work, having consumed zero alcohol for over 24 hours,and decide to use Listerine as a mouthwash (26.9% alcohol) after brushing my teeth. I pull up to the exit to the main road and someone rams me from behind. There is a cop car passing by and they decide to breathalyze the motorists, I have just swished and spat a mouthful of alcohol laden listerine and blow well over the limit, despite the fact that there is a negligible amount of alcohol in my blood.You think I should be put on the DUI “hall of shame” (your public publishing of people arrested) without at least waiting for charges, let alone a trial?

        • Anonymous says:

          One study was done with Listerine mouthwash, where seven subjects were made to rinse their mouths with Listerine for 30 seconds. Each subject then took a breathalyzer test one minute, three minutes, five minutes and ten minutes after they used the mouthwash. After five minutes, the average test result was still well above the legal limit. (“Field Sobriety Testing: Intoxilyzers and Listerine Antiseptic,” The Police Chief July 1985 page 70) In another study, the pocket breath-freshener spray Binaca was used instead, but the results were basically the same.

    • Anonymous says:

      you can read the names in the court logs yourself.

    • Anonymous says:

      They’re named in the Cause Lists sooner or later.

  8. Anonymous says:

    So summing up: Saturday was drunk driving day, and Sunday was speeding day for the Traffic Unit’s 10 officers (see Auntie). Will it ever be possible to expect these career officers to be 100% familiar with the handful of single column pages of Traffic Code every day, or is that too much to ask? We continue to pay a lot of money for an elusive level of professional competency and a dearth of return on Investment (much of it literally accidental). Community response time continues to be so glacial, that most people don’t bother calling. Many of us routinely see people swerving around without lights on the ETH at night, and the RCIPS would see them too, if they showed up.

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  9. Anonymous says:

    Keep up the pressure on drivers to obey the law and prosecute any without insurance, it’s mandatory for a reason. No exceptions. It’s a relief to read standards are being enforced. Good work RCIPS!

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  10. Anonymous says:

    great job rcip….keep it up! as a native caymanian and living here, i am proud of you all for taking these people off the road!?

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  11. Anonymous says:

    The police really need to get the tickets into the system in a timely fashion. My friend got a speeding ticket a few weeks back and went to pay yesterday only to be told there is no record of it yet. There is a limited time to pay before a warrant is issued and it is such a pain in the behind to find parking in town on a lunch break and now because the police officer hasn’t completed this part of his job more time must be wasted in the hopes that next time they attempt to pay that the ticket will have been entered. You should be able to pay the next day and you should also be able to pay online for minor offences.

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  12. Anonymous says:

    Can the car hire companies give tourists instructions on how to drive around roundabouts? They cause chaos and multiple accidents…not surprising as they have very few such things in the US.

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  13. To the haters says:

    Give them a break their depressed due to too many ex-pats LOL.

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  14. Anonymous says:

    Well done cops. Just as a sidenote, any chance you could detect an old green Dodge Caravan? I’ve seen this vehicle on several occasions over the past couple of years, I know it is the same one, as it has its headlights CONSTANTLY flashing, all the time! In theory it must have been ‘inspected’ too, so check out the testers too. I witnessed a lady driving this on Sunday, headlights merrily flashing away, whilst she chatted away on her phone. Get this POS off the roads.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Instead of posting your concerns on here at CNS, there is crime stoppers that you can join if you really want to help the police.

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      • Anonymous says:

        I’d like to report a car to crime stoppers please.

        CS: What’s going on?

        Its headlights flash, all the time.

        CS: Okay sir, we shall file this as a priority right now.

        Look, I’ve had the police down a few times in the past, and the highlights from them included…recording the wrong dates for a crime, losing the initial report, the second report riddled with basic spelling and grammar errors. I doubt a flasher, in this sense of the word would get much of a response. I’d like to think the car has been seen by multiple patrol vehicles.

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