Drivers urged to stay sober behind the wheel
Police make a traffic stop (file photo)
(CNS): Since the beginning of December, when police began their Holiday Safety Campaign, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service has already made 32 arrests for DUI, with six of those arrested having a blood alcohol content of over twice the legal limit and in one case over three times the limit. The RCIPS, which supports the National Drug Council’s Purple Ribbon Bus and Designated Driver Campaign, is urging people to make alternative arrangements if they plan to drink over the holiday season.
“You don’t need to refrain from drinking as you participate in the festivities during the holiday season,” said Inspector Ian Yearwood of the Traffic and Roads Policing Unit. “However, if you do intend to drink, it is essential that you make plans in advance for alternative transportation, whether that be a designated driver, a taxi, or the Purple Ribbon Bus on New Year’s Eve. Whatever the situation, there is no excuse for choosing to drink and drive.”
A targeted increase in police presence, both in commercial areas and on the road, will continue until the New Year, with the aim of ensuring a safe holiday season for members of the public as they travel the roads and do their shopping. Safer roads, however, require checkpoints that can cause delays.
“We ask for the public’s patience as we take the necessary measures to disrupt drunk driving and keep our roads safe throughout this period,” Yearwood said, as he warned motorists to include extra travel time in their plans. “This is another reason to make alternative arrangements for transportation — you can avoid getting a DUI and reduce holiday traffic on the road at the same time.”
Meanwhile, the Designated Driver Campaign, which is running throughout the holiday season, is an initiative among local restaurants to offer designated drivers complimentary soft drinks throughout the evening.
The Purple Ribbon Bus service provides free bus service on New Year’s Eve from 9:00pm to 4:00am. The service runs between West Bay and Bodden Town every 15 minutes, with occasional service to East End and North Side.
Category: Crime, Crime Prevention, Police
The dispatch and fare mysteries of our taxi services would be well served by digitizing via one of a dozen existing taxi apps like “curb”. I used this a lot on recent trip to NYC. It uses existing cab operators, and billing is automated to credit cards on file. Better yet, the Caymanian cab owners would stand to be paid for every verified trip. At minimum, in 2019, all licensed taxis should have credit card machines in the vehicles. There is too much cash flying around which isn’t good for anyone!
Alcohol is supposed to be for adults. If you aren’t mature enough to know yourself, or plan and budget accordingly, you shouldn’t be driving a car, or drinking at all. There are lots of fantastic cab drivers out there. Get their business cards and keep them in your regular rotation. If you tell them when you’re finishing up, they’ll be there waiting for you, and yes, they will call you. If you feel you’ve been overcharged, do us all the service of getting their details and reporting them to the public Transport Authority. It doesn’t happen unless you report it. Be a grown up.
This RCIP campaign needs to be 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year!!!
Wow, from these comments, you’d think alcoholics believe they have a right to drink and drive and will use any excuse to justify endangering the public with their recklessness. Nobody should be planning to go out and get drunk in their car! Carpool with a responsible friend, take a cab, or hire a private driver for the night! You’ll have more fun, and you probably won’t risk killing anyone accidentally that way!
But I can’t afford to drink responsibly. We need uber.
keep up good work rcip! especially on linford dunn highway!
Uber now please backwards government.
why would anybody thumbs down to this???
Kids who think Uber “surge pricing” algorithms at closing time will be any cheaper than what is available now, clearly have never used Uber, and your failing grip on personal finances still doesn’t give you permission to drive around loaded.
So incredibly easy to solve… yet here we all are, stuck at the hands of a helpless, overly-expensive, taxi non-service.
Taxi service can’t even arrange a sms to u when they are there. They want u to wait outside urgh
An SMS? Are they supposed to send you a Snapchat too? How about the basic courtesy of keeping an eye out for the cab YOU summoned?! Still not an excuse to drive drunk.
The public transport board must be held accountable.
class action suit?
I’ll do it when I have a better alternative.
Risking a fatal accident is the best choice? 17 thumbs up!!! That’s our problem RCIPS. Bust them all please!!!
And yet government interferes to prevent a viable alternative like Flex coming into the marketplace.
Also this is not just about drink driving, these roadblocks provide a nice little boost to the police coffers when people are being pulled left right and center for any minor violations.
Merry Christmas indeed
You do know the money goes to government, not back to the police???
Minor violations? Such as… no insurance? No license? Stupid unsafe vehicles?
I agree with you on the stance about flex/uber/Lyft, but on everything else, you’re just wrong.
They have quotas to meet, no?
Wtf are you talking about? The RCIPS barely have any visible enforcement of any kind. Quotas and performance benchmarks don’t exist…
pity cig blocked uber and won’t let public buses run late…
now everybody is the mercy of a couple of unreliable, rip-off taxi operators…
a while back i was trying to get home at 2am and was told by 1 company they only had 1 taxi on the road….the other company didn’t answer that night.
and people wonder why folks drink and drive???
I see. It’s all CIG’s fault that people aren’t responsible for their own actions. Got it.
They absolutely are. When it costs 50 bucks for a ride home after spending 100+ on a night out, people will definitely chance it.
UBER & LYFT IN 2019 for Grand Cayman. Just do it CIG.
they won’t. it’s caymanian protectionism…. at the expense of public convenience and safety
Yes it is. They are the ones that are blocking a vital service that will further the prevention of breaking the law. What the hell is wrong with you?
reasoning with caymankind is like banging ur head against a brick wall.
Bit harsh on brick walls.
Drunks always find some excuse…misplaced service expectations and recurring planning failures like, someone was supposed to to stay up until 4:30 to drive your random drunk ass home at 7pm pricing?! The taxi drivers have to go home and sleep and wake up fresh enough to do airport runs starting when you’re still getting high at the after-party. Uber App-integration with current taxi fleet doesn’t fix client-side stupid.